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Perplexity , the speculation - backed startup progress AI - power hunt production , has been sued in Union court for allegedly violating another fellowship ’s stylemark .
In acomplaint filed Thursdayin the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California , attorneys represent a company called Perplexity Solved Solutions impeach Perplexity of infringe on its trademark right wing by using the brand “ Perplexity . ”
Perplexity Solved Solutions , a Plano , Texas - based firm found in 2017 , applied to registerthe Perplexity trademarkwith the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO ) in October 2021 , concord to the complaint .
Perplexity Solved Solutions primarily deal 60 minutes and work collaboration software , admit a unified fascia for 60 minutes analytics and a videoconferencing peter called Perplexity Meet . The company secured a trademark registration by November 2022 and start up promoting ware on its site , perplexityonline.com , a orbit that Perplexity Solved Solutions had registered in 2021 .
The Texas company alleges that AI startup Perplexity began infringing on its trademark “ in or around ” August 2022 to promote its AI - powered lookup engine . The month prior — July 2022 — Perplexity had registered the area perplexity.ai , which the complaint also alleges is infringement .
“ The [ Perplexity ] site currently located at the infringing domain name prominently have the Perplexity [ trademark ] , ” the complaint register , “ [ and ] the infringing goods and services are extremely similar to those offered by Perplexity [ Solved Solutions ] and attract to a similar customer groundwork . For instance , Perplexity [ Solved Solutions ’ ] ‘ Perplexity Meet ’ and defendant ’s ‘ Perplexity outer space ’ both are software platforms that facilitate communication and collaborationism among colleague in clientele and other organizations . ”
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Perplexity Spaces , which the San Francisco - based AI startuplaunched for enterprise customersin October , are hub with a customizable AI assistant and connectors to third - party platforms , apps , and Indian file systems .
The complaint alleges that Perplexity has “ impregnate the market ” with its impinge branding , including selling across its various social media accounts . The AI startup decline to purchase the Perplexity trademark in September 2023 when offered , per the complaint , and or else opt to file for its own hallmark with the USPTO , which is still pending .
According to the complaint , Perplexity did n’t comply with a cease and refrain letter from Perplexity Solved Solutions ’ counsel , and it has n’t bow out its pending trademark program — despite efforts to play off the program before the USPTO ’s test and entreaty table .
Attorneys for Perplexity Solved Solutions say that Perplexity ’s economic consumption of its hallmark is likely to inseminate mix-up .
“ In fact , upon selective information and belief , consumers already have been fuddle , ” the charge reads . “ For object lesson , on legion occasion , societal culture medium user have ‘ tag ’ Perplexity in their posts about suspect ’s conflict goods and services . ”
The complaint alleges that Perplexity ’s demeanor violates practice of law , including the Lanham Act — the U.S. Union law that regulate trademarks and unfair competition . Among other var. of legal backup , Perplexity Solved Solutions is seeking to bar Perplexity from using its trademark , as well as the hallmark “ Perplexity AI , ” pay damages , and transplant ownership of any sphere that admit Perplexity branding .
It ’s the tardy courtroom vexation for Perplexity , which is currentlybattling a lawsuitfiled by News Corp ’s Dow Jones and the NY Post over what the plaintiff describe as a “ content kleptocracy . ” Many other intelligence situation haveexpressed concernsthat Perplexity closely double their contentedness — just last October , The New York Timessentthe startup a cease and desist letter .
