Fintech Giants Resolve ‘Pe’ Dispute
Fintech unicorns BharatPe and PhonePe have reached a settlement in their longstanding legal disputes regarding the usage of the ‘Pe’ suffix in their brand names. This resolution marks the end of a five-year legal battle spanning multiple courts.
As part of the settlement, both fintech companies have agreed to withdraw their oppositions against each other in the trademark registry, allowing them to proceed with registering their respective marks. Additionally, they will undertake necessary actions to fulfill the obligations outlined in the settlement agreement for cases pending in the Delhi High Court and the Bombay High Court.
Rajnish Kumar, chairman of BharatPe’s board, commended the professionalism and maturity displayed by both management teams in resolving these legal issues, emphasizing the positive impact this will have on the industry. Similarly, Sameer Nigam, founder and CEO of PhonePe, expressed satisfaction with the amicable resolution, highlighting its potential to facilitate the growth of the Indian fintech sector.
In 2018, PhonePe sent a cease and desist notice to BharatPe, demanding that they stop using the brand name “BharatPe” with the ‘Pe’ written in the Devanagari script. Consequently, BharatPe ceased using that specific format and exclusively adopted “BharatPe” for its services.
In 2019, PhonePe filed a plea in the Delhi High Court seeking an injunction against BharatPe regarding the use of the suffix “Pe.” PhonePe argued that the “Pe” suffix had gained distinctiveness, leading consumers to consistently associate it with PhonePe.
Later, in 2021, PhonePe filed a commercial intellectual property (IP) infringement suit against BharatPe over the registration of the trademark “PostPe” and its variations.
Last year, the Bombay High Court dismissed PhonePe’s petition for interim injunction, thereby ruling in favor of BharatPe. The court noted PhonePe’s failure to establish a strong prima facie case for interim relief.
Similarly, in the same year, the Madras High Court rejected PhonePe’s trademark infringement plea against DigiPe, stating that there were no other similarities between the two parties except for the ‘Pe’ suffix.
Amidst this prolonged legal battle, PhonePe also appealed to the Supreme Court when the apex court dismissed PhonePe’s appeal seeking to restrain DigiPe from using the ‘Pe’ trademark.
In an order dated May 3, the Supreme Court stated, “We are not inclined to entertain the Special Leave Petitions under Article 136 of the Constitution of India… The Special Leave Petitions are accordingly dismissed.”
This dispute was one of many trademark infringement cases involving emerging fintech startups and major tech companies. For example, Elon Musk-led EV giant Tesla filed a lawsuit against the battery company Tesla Power for trademark infringement and unfair trade competition.
Additionally, in March, the Supreme Court refused to grant relief to travel tech major MakeMyTrip in its plea against Google, alleging trademark infringement through the Google Ads program.
