Color clash of hospital titans goes to court

NYU Langone accuses Northwell of imitation in ads, on buildings

BY BRANDON DUFFY

NYU Langone filed a lawsuit Thursday against Northwell Health accusing them of imitating their color scheme and using a similar shade of purple in their advertising and buildings to capitalize on Langone’s “substantial investment in its brand.”

Langone, which has a hospital in Mineola, alleges Northwell, based in New Hyde Park, intentionally copied their “unique” color and font in multiple forms of advertising–including billboards and digital ads–to exploit their reputation.

The lawsuit, filed in New York’s Southern District Court, accuses Northwell of engaging in “deceptive trade practices.”

Langone cited its placement in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-2023 “Best Hospitals Honor Roll”, the top spot in New York and #3 in the nation, as evidence of its goodwill and reputation that Northwell has not achieved.

The lawsuit, which includes multiple side-by-side comparisons, alleges that Northwell has copied Langone’s advertising and marketing campaigns, color schemes, fonts, headline styles and visual identity.

“Northwell’s conduct is not only unfair, but by hitching its brand to NYU Langone, Northwell has created a likelihood of confusion as to the affiliation, connection, or association of Northwell with NYU Langone, to the detriment and harm of NYU Langone,” the lawsuit said.

Attorneys for Langone claim that Northwell “has bathed” its Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead as the same or nearly the same purple that Langone uses.

Northwell Health’s Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York) Northwell, which has 16 of its 21 hospitals on Long Island, is the state’s largest health care provider with over 85,000 employees.

Ramon Soto, Northwell’s chief marketing and communications officer, told The New York Post they use branding with a wide array of colors.

“NYU Langone’s claim that it owns the color purple for health care services is nothing short of preposterous. And it’s an insult that part of the complaint includes a hospital’s Code Lavender COVID-19 memorial,” Soto told

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