PhonePe, BharatPe Amicably Conclude Trademark Disputes Over Usage Of 'Pe' In Brand Names

Both parties said that they have opted to withdraw any issues against each other in the Trade Marks Registry, in turn, allowing both the parties to move ahead and register their respective trademarks

Fintech players, PhonePe and BharatPe, said on Sunday that they have settled their legal disputes regarding the usage of the trademark with the suffix ‘Pe’ in their brand identities. The financial technology firms shared that they have concluded their conflict which has been going for about five years now across multiple courts.  

According to a report by Business Standard, both the firms said that they have opted to withdraw any issues against each other in the Trade Marks Registry, in turn, allowing both the parties to move ahead and register their respective trademarks.

Issuing a joint statement, the fintech firms said, “Further, both organisations will undertake necessary steps to comply with the obligations under the settlement agreement in respect of all cases before the Delhi High Court (HC) and Bombay HC.”

Notably, the issue escalated earlier in June 2021, when PhonePe and Resilient Innovations, the parent entity of BharatPe, proceeded for a full trial regarding the usage of the word ‘Pe’ after almost two years of court proceedings. A lawsuit was filed by PhonePe against the other party seeking a claim for trademark rights over the suffix.

In October 2021, PhonePe sought an injunction from the Bombay High Court to restrain Resilient Innovations from misusing the former’s registered trademarks by using and promoting ‘PostPe’/’postpe’, a subsidiary of BharatPe.

Lauding the decision, Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of the board, BharatPe, said, “I appreciate the maturity and professionalism shown by the management of both sides, working closely to resolve all outstanding legal issues and moving ahead to focus their energy and resources on building robust digital payment ecosystems.”

Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO, PhonePe, echoed the sentiments and stated, “I am glad that we have reached an amicable resolution in this matter. This outcome will benefit both companies to move forward and focus our collective energy on growing the Indian fintech industry as a whole.”