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US: Calibra faces trademark infringement suit

By  |  October 13, 2019

Adding another possible legal showdown to the Libra crypto project, and potentially adding to its list of challenges, Facebook’s Calibra is facing a suit for trademark infringement by the Current mobile banking app. The complaint claims that Calibra’s logo is too similar to Current’s, which the FinTech has been using since August of 2016, CoinDesk reported.

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    Calibra is developing the digital wallet for the Libra project, while Current is an app-based, alternative banking platform. Current is reportedly seeking monetary damages along with a preliminary injunction. It alleges, according to the outlet, that “the infringing mark adopted and used by the Calibra defendants is not only confusingly similar to, but virtually identical to, the Current mark.”

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    The logos have similar stories of origin, as they were both reportedly made by the Character branding firm out of San Francisco. However, it is not known whether the same team members worked on the accounts. According to the outlet, Current filed an application for its logo on June 26, 2019, which was eight days after Facebook unveiled the Libra effort and branding.

    Howard Shire, a partner in the intellectual property department of Pepper Hamilton LLP, told the outlet as an observer that “it is suspicious that the defendant’s logo came out of the same firm that created the plaintiff’s logo.” But, he noted, there could be an explanation found in communications or contracts between the two firms.

    In separate news, the European Commission has asked Facebook and the Libra Association to respond to a series of questions on financial stability, data privacy and money laundering risks that could be posed by the project. Facebook and the Libra Association were sent a list of questions from the commission’s executive branch asking for a better understanding of the proposed digital currency.

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