AI Startup Perplexity Demanded Alleged Trademark Infringement

Perplexity, the venture-backed startup structure AI-powered search products, has been taken legal action against in federal court for presumably breaching another business’s trademark.

In a problem 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 utilizing the brand name “Perplexity.”

Perplexity Solved Solutions, a Plano, Texas-based firm established in 2017, applied to sign up the Perplexity hallmark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October 2021, according to the problem.

Perplexity Solved Solutions mostly offers HR and workplace partnership software application, including a merged control panel for HR analytics and a videoconferencing tool called Perplexity Meet. The business protected a trademark registration by November 2022 and began promoting items on its site, perplexityonline.com, a domain that Perplexity Solved Solutions had signed up in 2021.

Perplexity and counsel for Perplexity Solved Solutions did not react as of press time. TechCrunch will update the short article if either party remarks.

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

“The [Perplexity] site currently situated at the infringing domain plainly features the Perplexity [hallmark],” the problem reads,” [and] the infringing items and services are extremely comparable to those offered by Perplexity [Solved Solutions] and interest a similar consumer base. For instance, Perplexity [Solved Solutions’] ‘Perplexity Meet’ and accused’s ‘Perplexity Spaces’ both are software application platforms that assist in communication and partnership amongst associates in businesses and other organizations.”

Perplexity Spaces, which the San Francisco-based AI startup introduced for enterprise clients in October, are centers with a customizable AI assistant and adapters to third-party platforms, apps, and file systems.

The problem declares that Perplexity has “saturated the marketplace” with its infringing branding, including marketing throughout its numerous social media accounts. The AI startup declined to buy the Perplexity hallmark in September 2023 when used, per the grievance, and rather decided to apply for its own hallmark with the USPTO, which is still pending.

According to the problem, Perplexity didn’t adhere to a stop and desist letter from Perplexity Solved Solutions’ counsel, and it hasn’t withdrawn its pending hallmark application – in spite of efforts to oppose the application before the USPTO’s trial and appeal board.

Attorneys for Perplexity Solved Solutions state that Perplexity’s usage of its hallmark is most likely to plant confusion.

“In reality, upon info and belief, customers currently have actually been confused,” the problem reads. “For instance, on numerous events, social media users have actually ‘tagged’ Perplexity in their posts about defendant’s infringing goods and services.”

The problem alleges that Perplexity’s conduct laws, including the Lanham Act – the U.S. federal law that manages hallmarks and unfair competition. Among other kinds of legal relief, Perplexity Solved Solutions is looking for to bar Perplexity from using its hallmark, in addition to the hallmark “Perplexity AI,” pay damages, and transfer ownership of any domains that consist of Perplexity branding.

It’s the newest courtroom headache for Perplexity, which is currently fighting a claim submitted by News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post over what the plaintiffs describe as a “content kleptocracy.” Many other news websites have revealed concerns that Perplexity closely duplicates their material – just last October, The New york city Times sent the startup a cease and desist letter.

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