BharatPe and PhonePe settle trademark dispute over 'Pe' suffix

Top digital payments firms BharatPe and PhonePe have settled a long-standing legal battle over the use of the trademark with the suffix ‘Pe' through an outside court settlement. The battle over the usage of 'Pe' started in 2018.

Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of the Board, BharatPe, said, “This is a positive development for the industry. I appreciate the maturity and professionalism shown by the Management of both sides, working closely to resolve all outstanding legal issues and moving ahead to focus their energy and resources on building robust digital payment ecosystems."

Both firms have taken steps to withdraw all oppositions against each other in the trademark registry which will help them to proceed with the registration of their respective marks.

"I am glad that we have reached an amicable resolution in this matter. This outcome will benefit both companies to move forward and focus our collective energy on growing the Indian fintech industry as a whole. I would like to thank Mr. Rajnish Kumar and his team for working with us to get to this positive outcome," said Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO PhonePe.

In April 2023, the Bombay High Court had dismissed the interim injunction application filed by PhonePe against BharatPe's Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) arm PostPe, for restraining the use of the brand name 'PostPe, "which was identical or similar to PhonePe's trademarks.

The firms have finally decided to put an end to the long legal battle that started in 2018. "Both organizations will undertake to take other necessary steps to comply with the obligations under the settlement agreement in respect of all cases before Hon’ble Delhi High Court and Hon’ble Bombay High Court," they said in a joint statement.