Perplexity, a startup backed by venture capital that specializes in AI-driven search tools, is facing a federal lawsuit over claims of trademark infringement brought against it by another company.
In a legal filing submitted on Thursday in the Northern District of California’s U.S. District Court, lawyers for a firm named Perplexity Solved Solutions have accused Perplexity of violating its trademark by using the name “Perplexity.”
Perplexity Solved Solutions, established in 2017 and located in Plano, Texas, filed an application to obtain the Perplexity trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in October 2021, as detailed in the complaint.
This Texas-based company focuses on workplace collaboration tools, offering solutions such as HR analytics dashboards and a video conferencing product known as Perplexity Meet. By November 2022, the firm successfully registered its trademark and began marketing its products on their website, perplexityonline.com, which they had secured in 2021.
As of the time of this report, neither Perplexity nor its legal team had provided a response. TechCrunch will update the article if either side issues a statement.
The Texas firm claims that the AI company Perplexity started violating its trademark rights “around” August 2022 while promoting its AI-based search engine. Notably, the month before—July 2022—Perplexity registered the domain perplexity.ai, an act that the complaint also considers an infringement.
“The website associated with the infringing domain prominently showcases the Perplexity [trademark],” the complaint states, “[with] the infringing products and services being closely related to those provided by Perplexity [Solved Solutions], appealing to an overlapping customer demographic. For instance, both Perplexity [Solved Solutions’] ‘Perplexity Meet’ and the defendant’s ‘Perplexity Spaces’ serve as software platforms designed to enhance communication and collaboration within businesses and various organizations.”
Perplexity Spaces, which was introduced for enterprise users by the San Francisco-based AI company in October, functions as customizable hubs featuring an AI assistant along with connections to external apps, platforms, and file systems.
The lawsuit claims that Perplexity has “flooded the market” with its infringing brand, promoting its offerings across various social media channels. According to the complaint, the AI firm declined an opportunity to acquire the Perplexity trademark in September 2023 when it was offered, choosing instead to submit its own trademark application to the USPTO, which remains pending.
In addition, the complaint indicates that Perplexity has disregarded a cease and desist letter sent by the attorneys for Perplexity Solved Solutions, and has not retracted its pending trademark application, despite attempts to contest the application before the USPTO’s trial and appeal board.
Legal representatives for Perplexity Solved Solutions argue that Perplexity’s use of the trademark is likely to create confusion among consumers.
“There have been instances where consumers appear to have been misled,” the complaint states. “For instance, on multiple occasions, social media users have tagged Perplexity in discussions about the defendant’s infringing products and services.”
The lawsuit contends that Perplexity’s actions breach multiple laws, including the Lanham Act, which governs trademarks and unfair competition in the U.S. Perplexity Solved Solutions seeks various legal remedies, including an injunction against Perplexity’s use of its trademark and the name “Perplexity AI,” monetary damages, and the transfer of any domains thatuse the Perplexity branding.
This legal challenge is the latest issue for Perplexity, which is also entangled in a lawsuit initiated by News Corp’s Dow Jones and the New York Post, accusing the startup of engaging in what they term a “content kleptocracy.” Many other media companies have also raised alarms about Perplexity closely mirroring their content; just last October, the New York Times issued a cease and desist notice to the startup.
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