AI Startup Perplexity Sued For Alleged Trademark Infringement

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

In a problem submitted Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, lawyers representing a business called Perplexity Solved Solutions accuse Perplexity of infringing on its trademark rights by utilizing the brand “Perplexity.”

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

Perplexity Solved Solutions mainly sells HR and office collaboration software application, including an unified control panel for HR analytics and a videoconferencing tool called Perplexity Meet. The business protected a hallmark registration by November 2022 and started promoting items 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 react since press time. TechCrunch will upgrade the article if either celebration comments.

The Texas company alleges that AI start-up 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 signed up the domain perplexity.ai, which the grievance also declares is violation.

“The [Perplexity] site currently situated at the infringing domain prominently includes the Perplexity [hallmark],” the problem checks out,” [and] the infringing products and services are extremely similar to those provided by Perplexity [Solved Solutions] and interest a comparable customer base. For example, Perplexity [Solved Solutions’] ‘Perplexity Meet’ and offender’s ‘Perplexity Spaces’ both are software application platforms that help with interaction and collaboration amongst coworkers in businesses and other companies.”

Perplexity Spaces, which the San Francisco-based AI start-up launched for business customers in October, are centers with an adjustable AI assistant and adapters to third-party platforms, apps, and file systems.

The problem alleges that Perplexity has “filled the marketplace” with its infringing branding, consisting of marketing throughout its numerous social networks accounts. The AI startup declined to purchase the Perplexity hallmark in September 2023 when used, per the problem, and rather decided to apply for its own hallmark with the USPTO, which is still pending.

According to the grievance, Perplexity didn’t abide by a cease and desist letter from Perplexity Solved Solutions’ counsel, and it hasn’t withdrawn its pending hallmark application – regardless of 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 hallmark is likely to plant confusion.

“In reality, upon info and belief, consumers already have been puzzled,” the complaint reads. “For example, on various events, social media users have ‘tagged’ Perplexity in their posts about accused’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 manages hallmarks and unfair competitors. Among other kinds of legal relief, Perplexity Solved Solutions is looking for to bar Perplexity from utilizing its hallmark, as well as the hallmark “Perplexity AI,” pay damages, and transfer ownership of any domains that consist of Perplexity branding.

It’s the current courtroom headache for Perplexity, which is presently battling a claim filed by News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post over what the complainants refer to as a “content kleptocracy.” Many other news sites have actually expressed issues that Perplexity carefully reproduces their content – just last October, The New york city Times sent the start-up a stop and desist letter.

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