AI Giant Faces Trademark Infringement Lawsuit, Court in Perplexity

Perplexity, the AI company, is now facing legal action for allegedly infringing on the trademark rights of another entity. The case was filed this week in a California court, accusing Perplexity of unauthorized use of trademarks, specifically in its name.

Perplexity Solved Solutions, a Texas-based company founded in 2017, applied for the Perplexity trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October 2021. The company specializes in developing collaborative work software and HR solutions, including a tool called “Perplexity Meet” for video calls among HR divisions.

According to the lawsuit, Perplexity, the AI company, began violating the trademark in August 2022 by promoting a search service under the same name. It is also alleged that Perplexity registered the domain “perplexity.ai” a month earlier, which is used to provide services and is claimed to be another trademark infringement.

The lawsuit further claims that the services offered by Perplexity’s AI are similar to those provided by Perplexity Solved Solutions. The Texas-based company accuses Perplexity of abusive use of the trademark on various social platforms, saturating the market with the name and making it difficult for Perplexity Solved Solutions to maintain its activities.

Before resorting to legal action, Perplexity Solved Solutions reportedly reached out to Perplexity, demanding an end to the trademark usage, but received no response. As a result, the case has now moved to the courts for further evaluation.

Lawyers representing Perplexity Solved Solutions argue that the similarity between the trademarks has caused confusion among consumers, leading to incorrect associations and misunderstandings about the functionalities provided by each company.

It’s worth noting that this is not the only legal case involving Perplexity. The company is also facing another lawsuit for unauthorized mass collection of news from various internet sources, which it allegedly uses to train its AI models.

These legal battles highlight the importance of trademark protection and the potential consequences of unauthorized use. It will be interesting to see how the courts evaluate the arguments presented by both parties and determine the outcome of these cases.