Ripple Forced to Rebrand over Aussie PayID Litigation

By Sam Town August 29, 2020 In Australia, Cryptocurrency Law, Ripple

An ongoing court case between New Payments Platform Australia and Global digital asset platform Ripple (XRP) has resulted in a forced Ripple rebrand in Australia, with courts delivering an injunction that will bring an end to Ripple’s plans to launch a “PayID” product in the country.

First reported on August 27, litigation brought forward by Australia-wide industry payment platform NPPA focused on a dispute between the New Payments Platform and Ripple over the use of the “PayID” brand in Australia.

NPPA already possesses a trademark in Australia for PayID, — Ripples new “PayID” system, launched in June 2020, operates a service in direct competition with NPPA. The NPPA’s PayID solution was launched in February 2018.

In litigation filing, NPPA claimed that Ripple’s new payment platform could negatively impact Australian consumers:

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“The aim of this action is to protect Australian consumers and businesses from potential losses or scams that could arise as a result of confusion created from a payments service using the same name”

NPPA Hits Out at False Association With Ripple

NPPA also claimed within filing that Ripple was actively engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct, in breach of both the Australian Security and Investments Act and Australian Consumer Law. Notably, solicitors working with NPPA argued that Ripple had partnered with BTC Markets, Independent Reserve, and FlashFX — three Australian companies that, according to Ripple, mistakenly believed there was an association between NPPA and Ripple.

“There is evidence that each of these companies incorrectly believed there was an association between services offered by NPPA under the PayID trade mark and those offered by Ripple in using the PayID trade mark, when there is no such association”

A preliminary judgment granting leave to NPPA to pursue litigation has resulted in a forced rebrand of the Ripple product. Neil Murray SC, Council for Ripple, confirmed that the platform will pivot its brand direction:

“(Ripple’s) intention, again, without admissions, is to re-brand. Now the scope and timing of that is under consideration but it is … some priority. The hope is that this dispute will be resolved without too much contest in due course”

Ripple Forced to Rebrand

An interlocutory hearing on Friday 28th August confirms that Ripple pursued acceptance of an undertaking to rebrand PayID — NPPA refused the undertaking, seeking an injunction to restrict Ripple from offering services using the PayID brand. The court accepted the request for an injunction, ordering Ripple to cease the use of the PayID brand. 

Market response to the court case saw XRP/USD fall 4 percent on Thursday 27th August, recapturing 2 percent as part of a larger market spike. 

Sam Town
Author

Sam Town

Sam Town is a FinTech and Blockchain Journalist from Adelaide, Australia. I work with a broad spectrum of finance, technology, and blockchain businesses to deliver engaging, high-quality content across a range of topics. Areas of specialization include FinTech, blockchain, NeoBanks, crowdfunding, P2P lending, tax structuring & strategy, artificial intelligence, InsurTech, and finance IoT applications.

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