Crypto exchange Coinbase is facing a legal complaint from NanoLabs, the company behind the digital currency Nano, over alleged trademark infringement.
According to the complaint filed on February 24 in the California Northern District Court, NanoLabs claims that Coinbase’s Nano Bitcoin and Nano Ether futures contract products violate trademark rights owned by them.
NanoLabs argues that the infringement has caused economic harm and weakened its brand identity, resulting in “actual damage and irreparable harm.”
The company alleges that Coinbase’s offerings are “derivative products” based on Bitcoin and Ether, which are “identical or highly similar” to Nano.
The complaint also suggests that Coinbase targets the same type of consumers as NanoLabs, being “those seeking to invest in, and utilize, a digital currency,” and that the trademarks for Coinbase’s products “are identical, and […] confusingly similar,” to NanoLabs.
The documents claim that Coinbase had full knowledge of the Nano digital currency before launching its products due to correspondence between the two companies starting in 2018, which later resulted in Coinbase allegedly denying NanoLab’s application to list Nano on Coinbase.
NanoLabs argues that Coinbase should “have known that offering Nano Bitcoin on the Coinbase Derivatives Exchange would only further consumer confusion.”
The legal complaint highlights the importance of trademark protection in the growing crypto industry. With numerous digital currencies and exchanges in the market, it is crucial for companies to distinguish themselves and protect their brand identity. This case could set a precedent for future disputes in the industry.
As the case progresses, it will be interesting to see how it unfolds and what impact it will have on the crypto industry.
Coinbase, which went public last year, is one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, and the outcome of this case could have far-reaching consequences.
