Perplexity, a startup backed by venture capital that develops AI-enhanced search solutions, has faced a federal lawsuit for allegedly violating the trademark of another entity.
In a complaint registered on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, legal representatives for Perplexity Solved Solutions charge Perplexity with infringing their trademark rights by using the “Perplexity” name.
Perplexity Solved Solutions is a company based in Plano, Texas, founded in 2017, which applied to register the Perplexity trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October 2021, according to the filing.
This firm primarily provides HR and workplace collaboration software solutions, featuring a comprehensive dashboard for HR analytics and a video conferencing platform known as Perplexity Meet. By November 2022, they had secured trademark registration and commenced the promotion of their products on their website, perplexityonline.com, which was registered in 2021.
The Texas company contends that the AI startup Perplexity started infringing on its trademark “around” August 2022 to market its AI-powered search platform. The previous month, in July 2022, Perplexity had registered the domain perplexity.ai, which is also claimed to be a violation in the complaint.
The complaint states that the website associated with the alleged infringing domain prominently displays the Perplexity trademark, and that the infringing products and services are very similar to those offered by Perplexity Solved Solutions, appealing to an alike customer demographic. For instance, both Perplexity Solved Solutions’ ‘Perplexity Meet’ and Perplexity’s ‘Perplexity Spaces’ serve as software solutions to enhance communication and collaboration in business environments.
Perplexity Spaces, which the AI startup based in San Francisco introduced for enterprise clients in October, provides dedicated hubs featuring a custom AI assistant and links to various third-party applications and file systems.
The complaint asserts that Perplexity has “saturated the market” with its infringing brand identity, which includes promotional activities across multiple social media platforms. When offered the chance to purchase the Perplexity trademark in September 2023, the AI startup declined and instead chose to file for its own trademark with the USPTO, which remains under review.
As per the complaint, Perplexity ignored a cease and desist letter from the lawyers representing Perplexity Solved Solutions and has not retracted its pending trademark application, despite attempts to challenge the application before the USPTO’s trial and appeal board.
Legal representatives for Perplexity Solved Solutions argue that the use of its trademark by Perplexity is likely to create confusion.
The complaint states that, based on available information, consumers have already found themselves confused. It notes that on numerous occasions, social media users have mistakenly ‘tagged’ Perplexity in relation to the goods and services offered by the defendant.
The complaint alleges that Perplexity’s actions violate several laws, including the Lanham Act, which governs trademarks and unfair competition in the U.S. Among various forms of legal recourse sought, Perplexity Solved Solutions aims to prevent Perplexity from using its trademark as well as the “Perplexity AI” designation, demand damages, and request the transfer of any domains related to the Perplexity brand.
This development adds to the legal challenges faced by Perplexity, which is also defending against a lawsuit initiated by News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post regarding allegations of “content kleptocracy.” Several other news outlets have expressed worries that Perplexity closely imitates their content — as recently as last October, The New York Times issued a cease and desist notice to the startup.
