Madras HC rejects PhonePe's appeals in trademark infringement case against DigiPe

The Madras High Court has ruled against PhonePe's series of appeals to restrain DigiPe from using its logo.

The appeals by PhonePe were filed in response to a single-judge order issued in June in a trademark infringement case.

The appeals were against DigiPe's use of its logo and targeting a similar customer base in connection with a trademark infringement case initiated by PhonePe.

According to a Bar and Bench report, a Bench comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and PD Audikesavalu upheld the earlier decision from June, which had rejected PhonePe's request for an injunction.

The Bar and Bench report stated that the Court found insufficient grounds to indicate that DigiPe's use of the term 'Pe' could lead to customer confusion.

The Division Bench said that there was a lack of substantial evidence presented by PhonePe to establish that both its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app and DigiPe's app were targeting the same customer base.

DigiPe's maintained that its app was tailored for merchant establishments and a different customer group.

The Court noted, "The defendants have contended that the 'DigiPe' application is not useful for any individual customers and the same is confined to merchant establishments. Their target customers are entirely different from the customers of the plaintiff. Therefore, there is no question of confusion. The defendants on their website have categorically stated that DigiPe App caters to the needs of both merchants and customers."

The Court also raised concerns regarding PhonePe's inconsistent positions in various high courts with respect to copyright infringement cases involving the use of the term 'Pe.'

The order specifically noted that in a separate case involving 'BharatPe' before the Delhi High Court, PhonePe had admitted that 'CardPe' was the originator and adopter of the 'Pe' formative mark, implying that PhonePe itself was not the originator of the term 'Pe'.

High Court then noted that the original lawsuit between PhonePe and DigiPe was prepared for trial, allowing PhonePe the opportunity to present evidence to substantiate its claims.

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