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AI Startup Perplexity Sued For Alleged Trademark Infringement

Perplexity, the venture-backed start-up structure AI-powered search products, has been sued in federal court for apparently breaching another business’s trademark.

In a complaint submitted 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 “Perplexity.”

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

Perplexity Solved Solutions mostly sells HR and work environment collaboration software, consisting of a combined control panel for HR analytics and a videoconferencing tool called Perplexity Meet. The company secured a trademark registration by November 2022 and started promoting products on its website, perplexityonline.com, a domain that Perplexity Solved Solutions had registered in 2021.

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

The Texas business declares that AI startup Perplexity started infringing on its trademark “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 infringement.

“The [Perplexity] website currently located at the infringing domain name plainly features the Perplexity [hallmark],” the complaint checks out,” [and] the infringing items and services are extremely comparable to those offered by Perplexity [Solved Solutions] and interest a similar client base. For example, Perplexity [Solved Solutions’] ‘Perplexity Meet’ and offender’s ‘Perplexity Spaces’ both are software platforms that assist in communication and partnership among associates in organizations and other companies.”

Perplexity Spaces, which the San Francisco-based AI startup introduced for business 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, consisting of marketing throughout its various social networks accounts. The AI startup decreased to buy the Perplexity trademark in September 2023 when used, per the grievance, and rather chose 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 trademark application – in spite of efforts to oppose the application before the USPTO’s trial and appeal board.

Attorneys for Perplexity Solved Solutions say that Perplexity’s use of its trademark is likely to plant confusion.

“In reality, upon details and belief, consumers currently have actually been confused,” the grievance reads. “For example, on various celebrations, social media users have actually ‘tagged’ Perplexity in their posts about offender’s infringing goods and services.”

The problem declares that Perplexity’s conduct breaches laws, including the Lanham Act – the U.S. federal law that controls trademarks and unjust competition. To name a few forms of legal relief, Perplexity Solved Solutions is seeking to bar Perplexity from utilizing its trademark, along with 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 fighting a suit filed by News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post over what the plaintiffs explain as a “content kleptocracy.” Many other news sites have issues that Perplexity closely duplicates their content – simply last October, The New York Times sent the startup a cease and desist letter.

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