In a new turn of events, Flipkart-owned PhonePe has now taken competitor BharatPe to court over the use of the ‘Pe’ suffix for the latter’s newly launched ‘buy now pay later’ product, ‘PostPe’.
The company has approached the Bombay High Court seeking an injunction to restrain Resilient Innovations Pvt. Ltd., parent of BharatPe, from misusing its registered trademark ‘PhonePe’ which includes the ‘Pe’ suffix.
“PhonePe had approached the Hon'ble Bombay High Court seeking an injunction to restrain Resilient Innovations from misusing PhonePe's registered trademarks by using and promoting the marks 'PostPe' / 'postpe',” said PhonePe in a statement on Saturday.
“During the hearing, the Hon'ble Court observed that the mark PostPe adopted by Resilient Innovations is so phonetically, structurally and visually similar to PhonePe mark that he also thought that PostPe/postpe is a natural evolution of the word PhonePe and emanated from PhonePe,” added PhonePe on the hearing held on October 22 relating to the matter.
This comes just four months after PhonePe withdrew its injunction plea against BharatPe over the use of the suffix ‘Pe’ as it was preparing to take on the latter in a full trial.
The withdrawal of the injunction came after the Delhi high court dismissed PhonePe’s interim injunction plea in April this year. PhonePe filed a commercial lawsuit against BharatPe, alleging violation of its trademark and claiming exclusivity on the ‘Pe’ suffix in May 2019 at the Delhi high court.
The company was also seeking an injunction against BharatPe over the use of ‘Pe’ in its brand and app names, with the Delhi high court. Both firms have been arguing against the use of ‘Pe’ since 2018, even before the lawsuit.
"However, to address certain observations made by the Court in the pleadings filed by PhonePe, the suit was withdrawn with liberty to file a fresh suit challenging the adoption of mark PostPe/postpe by Resilient Innovations. Accordingly, while allowing the withdrawal of the suit and keeping the rights and contentions of the parties open, the Hon'ble Court granted PhonePe the liberty to file a fresh suit. We will, accordingly, file a fresh suit and continue to ardently oppose the use of the 'PostPe' / 'postpe' marks,” added PhonePe.
