Ripple faces trademark infringement charges pressed by the Australian Fintech Platform New Payments Platform (NPPA). The firm filed a lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia, claiming that the American-based blockchain firm breached its brand identity in branding Ripple’s PayID platform.
According to a court document filed on Friday last week, the Australian fintech platform asserts that the American blockchain firm infringed Australia’s Trade Marks Act (1995) and the Australian Consumer Law, with the illegal use of the firm’s brand and trademark.
Which PayID fintech platform was registered first?
Notably, NPP Australia was launched two years ago as a joint project between major Australian financial institutions. The Australian fintech platform allows clients from different financial institutions to do instant transactions. Currently, more than 60 banks in Australia use PayID.
The majority of crypto exchange platforms in Australia accept cash deposits through PayID, including Independent Reserve and BTC Markets, who are members of the Open Payments Coalition. This information suggests that the blockchain firm was conscious of Australia’s version of PayID.
NPPA claims to have obtained a trademark right for PayID back in March 2017. The platform allows its users to integrate more memorable information facts such as cell phone numbers or email IDs to the platform, and then share their PayIDs with banks they intend to receive payment from.
On the other hand, Ripple’s PayID was inaugurated into the market by the Open Payments Coalition back in June 2018 to merge payments. The platform is a collective effort between more than 40 global corporations such as Bitpay and Blockchain.com.
Ripple lawsuit hearing
A virtual court hearing was held on August 20, while lawsuit management proceedings took place on August 26. Notably, on August 20, Justice Stephen Burley decided that NPPA should give a notice to Ripple outside the land down under.
NPPA is a joint venture between the 13 largest banks in Australia, including the Reserve Bank of Australia.