AI Startup Perplexity Demanded Alleged Trademark Infringement

Perplexity, the venture-backed start-up search items, has actually been sued in federal court for supposedly breaching another business’s trademark.

In a grievance filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, lawyers representing a company called Perplexity Solved Solutions implicate Perplexity of infringing on its hallmark rights by using the brand “Perplexity.”

Perplexity Solved Solutions, a Plano, Texas-based company established in 2017, used to sign up the Perplexity trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October 2021, according to the complaint.

Perplexity Solved Solutions primarily offers HR and office partnership software application, consisting of an unified control panel for HR analytics and a videoconferencing tool called Perplexity Meet. The company secured a hallmark registration by November 2022 and started promoting products on its website, perplexityonline.com, a domain that Perplexity Solved Solutions had actually signed up in 2021.

Perplexity and counsel for Perplexity Solved Solutions did not respond since press time. TechCrunch will upgrade the post if either party comments.

The Texas company alleges that AI startup Perplexity started infringing on its hallmark “in or around” August 2022 to promote its AI-powered search engine. The month prior – July 2022 – Perplexity had signed up the domain perplexity.ai, which the grievance likewise declares is violation.

“The [Perplexity] website presently located at the infringing domain name prominently includes the Perplexity [hallmark],” the problem reads,” [and] the infringing items and services are extremely similar to those provided by Perplexity [Solved Solutions] and attract a comparable consumer base. For example, Perplexity [Solved Solutions’] ‘Perplexity Meet’ and accused’s ‘Perplexity Spaces’ both are software platforms that help with communication and partnership amongst colleagues in companies and other companies.”

Perplexity Spaces, which the San Francisco-based AI startup introduced for business consumers in October, are hubs with a customizable AI assistant and connectors to third-party platforms, apps, and file systems.

The complaint alleges that Perplexity has actually “saturated the marketplace” with its infringing branding, consisting of marketing across its different social media accounts. The AI startup declined to purchase the Perplexity hallmark in September 2023 when used, per the problem, and rather opted to apply for its own trademark with the USPTO, which is still pending.

According to the problem, Perplexity didn’t comply with a cease and desist letter from Perplexity Solved Solutions’ counsel, and it hasn’t withdrawn its pending hallmark application – despite efforts to oppose the application before the USPTO’s trial and appeal board.

Attorneys for Perplexity Solved Solutions state that Perplexity’s use of its trademark is most likely to sow confusion.

“In truth, upon information and belief, consumers currently have been confused,” the grievance checks out. “For instance, on various events, social media users have actually ‘tagged’ Perplexity in their posts about accused’s infringing goods and services.”

The grievance declares that Perplexity’s conduct breaches laws, including the Lanham Act – the U.S. federal law that controls hallmarks and unreasonable competition. To name a few types of legal relief, Perplexity Solved Solutions is looking for to bar Perplexity from utilizing its trademark, in addition to the hallmark “Perplexity AI,” pay damages, and transfer ownership of any domains that include Perplexity branding.

It’s the current courtroom headache for Perplexity, which is currently battling a lawsuit submitted by News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post over what the plaintiffs refer to as a “content kleptocracy.” Many other news sites have expressed concerns that Perplexity carefully duplicates their material – just last October, The New York Times sent out the start-up a stop and desist letter.

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