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AI Startup Perplexity Sued For Alleged Trademark Infringement

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

In a grievance filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, attorneys representing a company called Perplexity Solved Solutions implicate Perplexity of infringing on its trademark rights by using the brand « Perplexity. »

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

Perplexity Solved Solutions primarily offers HR and workplace cooperation software, including a combined dashboard for HR analytics and a videoconferencing tool called Perplexity Meet. The business protected a hallmark registration by November 2022 and began promoting products on its site, perplexityonline.com, a domain that Perplexity Solved Solutions had actually signed up in 2021.

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

The Texas company declares that AI startup Perplexity began 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 registered the domain perplexity.ai, which the grievance likewise alleges is violation.

« The [Perplexity] website presently located at the infringing domain prominently includes the Perplexity [trademark], » the problem checks out, » [and] the infringing products and services are extremely comparable to those used by Perplexity [Solved Solutions] and interest a similar customer base. For instance, Perplexity [Solved Solutions’] ‘Perplexity Meet’ and offender’s ‘Perplexity Spaces’ both are software platforms that assist in interaction and cooperation among associates in services and other organizations. »

Perplexity Spaces, which the San Francisco-based AI startup introduced for business customers in October, are hubs with an adjustable 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, consisting of marketing across its various social networks accounts. The AI startup declined to buy the Perplexity hallmark in September 2023 when offered, per the complaint, and rather decided to file for its own trademark with the USPTO, which is still pending.

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

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

« In truth, upon info and belief, consumers currently have actually been confused, » the problem checks out. « For instance, on numerous events, social networks users have ‘tagged’ Perplexity in their posts about defendant’s infringing products and services. »

The problem alleges that Perplexity’s conduct breaches laws, consisting of the Lanham Act – the U.S. federal law that regulates trademarks and unfair competitors. To name a few forms of legal relief, Perplexity Solved Solutions is looking for to bar Perplexity from utilizing its hallmark, in addition to the hallmark « Perplexity AI, » pay damages, and transfer ownership of any domains that include Perplexity branding.

It’s the most recent courtroom headache for Perplexity, which is presently battling a suit filed by News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post over what the complainants describe as a « content kleptocracy. » Many other news websites have actually expressed issues that Perplexity carefully duplicates their content – simply last October, The New York Times sent out the startup a cease and desist letter.

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