New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA) is a well-known Australian financial services firm, whom are reaching headlines, as the company are suing Ripple Labs, over allegations of trade mark infringement. In their recently filed court document, the company have claimed that Ripple have breached Australia’s Trade Marks Act (1995) by utilising their brand and trade mark “PayID”, without any authorisation to do so.
PayID was launched by NPPA, back in February 2018, with an advertising campaign costing the company AU$3.3 million, however in 2020 the CEO of NPPA found that Ripple had launched a similar- branded service to PayID. Furthermore, the document suggests that Ripple has passed off the brand during their launch at the Open Payments Coalition (OPC), in June 2020. Three out of the 40 companies, which signed up, are Australian-based, leading NPPA to claim each of them had assumed a commercial link between themselves and Ripple, over the registered trade mark.
PayID is a feature used by NPPA, which enables customers to create a unique identifier, which can then be linked with their financial institution, through a phone number or e-mail address. The unique identifier essentially allows for the transfer of money between parties, through e-mail or phone number, without the need to remember or know details such as account number or sort code. As of 2020, more than 60 banks in Australia have adopted the system.
If you have any questions regarding the above matter, or would require assistance with a trade mark, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team at the Trademarkroom today.
