BharatPe and PhonePe settle trademark dispute out of court
Digital payment companies BharatPe and PhonePe have successfully resolved their long-standing legal dispute over the use of the trademark suffix 'Pe.' The conflict, which began in 2018, was settled amicably outside of court. Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of the Board at BharatPe, praised both sides for their maturity and professionalism in resolving all outstanding legal issues.
What was the dispute about
The disagreement originated when PhonePe issued a cease and desist notice to BharatPe. The notice demanded that BharatPe stop using the trademark name 'BharatPe,' with 'Pe' written in Devanagari Hindi script. In response, BharatPe agreed to cease using 'BharatPe' with 'Pe' in Devanagari and started using the mark 'BharatPe' for its services across all places.
Legal battles ensue over 'Pe' trademark
In 2019, PhonePe filed a lawsuit against BharatPe in the Delhi High Court, alleging trademark infringement. The contention was that by using the trademark 'BharatPe,' BharatPe had infringed upon PhonePe's registered trademark. In October 2021, Resilient Innovations Pvt. Ltd., BharatPe's parent company, filed six petitions seeking cancelation of registrations held by PhonePe Pvt. Ltd., for the 'Pe' logo in Devanagari before the IP division of the high court.
Trademark disputes extend to 'PostPe' brand
PhonePe also filed a Commercial IP Suit against BharatPe in 2021 for registering trademarks 'PostPe' and 'postpe' in various classes. The Bombay High Court asked PhonePe to file a fresh petition incorporating certain observations. Resilient Innovation then filed an SLP (Special Leave Petition) in the Supreme Court against this order, but it was dismissed. In April 2023, an interim injunction application filed by PhonePe against BharatPe's Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) arm PostPe was also dismissed by the Bombay High Court.
