AI Startup Perplexity Sued For Alleged Trademark Infringement

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

In a grievance submitted 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 hallmark rights by utilizing the brand “Perplexity.”

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

Perplexity Solved Solutions mainly sells HR and work environment partnership software application, consisting of a combined dashboard 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 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 upgrade the post if either celebration comments.

The Texas business alleges that AI start-up Perplexity began infringing on its trademark “in or around” August 2022 to promote its AI-powered search engine. The month prior – July 2022 – Perplexity had actually registered the domain perplexity.ai, which the complaint likewise declares is infringement.

“The [Perplexity] website currently located at the infringing domain plainly features the Perplexity [trademark],” the grievance reads,” [and] the infringing goods and services are highly similar to those provided by Perplexity [Solved Solutions] and interest a similar client base. For example, Perplexity [Solved Solutions’] ‘Perplexity Meet’ and defendant’s ‘Perplexity Spaces’ both are software platforms that facilitate communication and collaboration amongst associates in organizations and other organizations.”

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

The grievance declares that Perplexity has “saturated the marketplace” with its infringing branding, consisting of marketing across its various social media accounts. The AI start-up declined to purchase the Perplexity trademark in September 2023 when used, per the complaint, and instead decided to declare its own trademark with the USPTO, which is still pending.

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Perplexity didn’t abide by a cease and desist letter from Perplexity Solved Solutions’ counsel, and it hasn’t withdrawn its pending trademark application – regardless of 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

“In truth, upon info and belief, customers currently have actually been puzzled,” the complaint reads. “For instance, on various events, social media users have actually ‘tagged’ Perplexity in their posts about accused’s infringing items and services.”

The complaint declares that Perplexity’s conduct breaches laws, consisting of the Lanham Act – the U.S. federal law that controls trademarks and unreasonable competitors. To name a few forms of legal relief, Perplexity Solved Solutions is looking for to bar Perplexity from utilizing its trademark, along with the trademark “Perplexity AI,” pay damages, and transfer ownership of any domains that include Perplexity branding.

It’s the latest courtroom headache for Perplexity, which is currently fighting 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 revealed concerns that Perplexity closely replicates their content – just last October, The New York Times sent the a cease and desist letter.

TechCrunch has an AI-focused newsletter! Register here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.