BharatPe and PhonePe resolved their trademark dispute over the use of the “Pe” suffix, following a ruling by the Delhi High Court. The court’s decision ends the legal conflict, allowing both companies to continue using their respective brand names. This settlement marks a significant resolution in the competitive fintech industry.
New Delhi: The BharatPe Group and PhonePe Group reached a mutually agreeable resolution to all longstanding legal disputes concerning the usage of the trademark suffix ‘Pe’, as stated in a joint announcement. These companies embroiled in extended legal battles across various courts for the past five years.
Justice Sanjeev Narula informed that both parties, withdrawing the cases they filed against each other. After reviewing the settlement agreement, the High Court issued a decree in accordance with the terms of the agreement, stating,
“The suit is decreed in line with the settlement agreement dated May 17, 2024.”
PhonePe and BharatPe engaged in a legal dispute over the past few years. The Delhi High Court and the Bombay High Court previously dismissed PhonePe’s interim relief applications.
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In its case before the Delhi High Court, PhonePe argued that,
“Pe was an invented word and an essential, dominant, and distinguishing feature of its registered trademarks. “
It claimed that Resilient Innovations’ use of the name “BharatPe” for its identical services infringed on PhonePe’s trademark and amounted to passing off.
However, the Court ruled that both “PhonePe” and “BharatPe” composite marks, and the plaintiff (PhonePe) could not claim exclusivity solely over the “Pe” suffix.
The plaintiff presented a prima facie case that the “Pe” suffix, which is known to convey the meaning “pay“, constitutes the dominant or essential feature of the “PhonePe” trademark.
Rajnish Kumar, the Chairman of BharatPe’s Board, expressed,
“This marks a significant step forward for the industry. I commend the maturity and professionalism demonstrated by both management teams, collaborating closely to address all lingering legal matters and redirecting efforts towards establishing resilient digital payment ecosystems.”
Similarly, Sameer Nigam, the Founder and CEO of PhonePe, stated,
“I’m pleased that we’ve achieved a mutually satisfactory resolution in this regard. This result will enable both companies to forge ahead and channel our combined efforts towards advancing the Indian fintech sector as a whole. I extend my gratitude to Mr. Rajnish Kumar and his team for their collaboration in achieving this positive outcome.”
Resilient Innovations Pvt Ltd introduced BharatPe in 2018. Currently, boasting a registered network exceeding 130 million merchants spread across over 450 cities, the company stands out as a major player in offline UPI transactions, handling over 370 million UPI transactions monthly.
PhonePe Group stands as a prominent name in India’s fintech landscape. Its flagship product, the PhonePe digital payments app, launched in August 2016.
In just seven years, the company rapidly grown to become Inia’s foremost consumer payments app, boasting over 535 million registered users and facilitating digital payments for more than 39 million merchants.
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BharatPe (Resilient) represented by a team of advocates led by J Sai Deepak, including Mohit Goel, Sidhant Goel, Deepankar Mishra, Abhishek Kotnala, and Karmanya Dev Sharma from the law firm Sim and San.
PhonePe, represented by a team of legal counsel, including Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, Sai Krishna and Shilpa Gupta from Sai Krishna & Associates, as well as Ruby Singh Ahuja and Akanksha Thapa from Karanjawala & Co.