PayPal, a US-based e-wallet company, filed a trademark infringement case against its Chinese-backed Indian counterpart Paytm in the Indian Trademark office, Hindustan Times reported Monday. PayPal alleged that Paytm uses colour patterns in its logo similar to those it uses. The company claimed that Paytm wouldn’t have done it unless they wanted to tap into their “global reputation and grow its user base.”
In the notice served against the mobile wallet company, PayPal described how Paytm used the “two-tone blue colour scheme” that is also part of PayPal’s colour scheme. The notice also states that Paytm used the word “pay”, which has a high recollection value and rings very similar to PayPal.
“(Paytm) slavishly adopted the two-tone blue colour scheme of PayPal in its entirety. While the first syllable in each mark is in dark blue colour, the second syllable adopts a light blue colour…. Further, both marks begin with the term ‘PAY’ which consumers tend to remember more than the second syllable, with the marks being of similar length,” the notice read.
Paytm has seen its users grow multifold since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on November 8, making old high-denomination notes invalid. The case against the company comes at a time when it has just begun to gain traction with small-scale traders and other local vendors. Last week, Paytm alleged that it had been cheated of Rs 6.15 lakh by 48 customers. CBI has registered a complaint in the case and will probe the “fraud”.
