AI Startup Perplexity Sued For Alleged Trademark Infringement

Perplexity, the venture-backed start-up building AI-powered search items, has been sued in federal court for allegedly breaking another company’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 accuse 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 trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October 2021, according to the problem.

Perplexity mainly sells HR and workplace cooperation software application, including an unified control panel for HR analytics and a videoconferencing tool called Perplexity Meet. The company secured a trademark 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 respond since press time. TechCrunch will upgrade the post if either celebration comments.

The Texas company declares that AI start-up Perplexity started infringing on its trademark “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 also alleges is violation.

“The [Perplexity] website presently situated at the infringing domain prominently includes the Perplexity [trademark],” the grievance reads,” [and] the infringing goods and services are extremely comparable to those provided 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 facilitate communication and cooperation amongst associates in businesses and other companies.”

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

The problem declares that Perplexity has actually “filled the market” with its infringing branding, including marketing throughout its various social networks accounts. The AI start-up decreased to acquire the Perplexity trademark in September 2023 when used, per the complaint, and instead decided to declare its own hallmark with the USPTO, which is still pending.

According to the complaint, Perplexity didn’t comply with a stop 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 say that Perplexity’s usage of its trademark is likely to plant confusion.

“In truth, upon info and belief, customers currently have actually been puzzled,” the grievance checks out. “For example, on various events, social networks users have actually ‘tagged’ Perplexity in their posts about accused’s infringing goods and services.”

The complaint declares that Perplexity’s conduct violates laws, consisting of the Lanham Act – the U.S. federal law that controls hallmarks and unjust competition. To name a few kinds of legal relief, Perplexity Solved Solutions is seeking to bar Perplexity from utilizing its hallmark, along with 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 currently battling a lawsuit filed by News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post over what the plaintiffs explain as a “content kleptocracy.” Many other news websites have revealed concerns that Perplexity carefully replicates their material – just last October, The New York Times sent out the startup a cease and desist letter.

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