Snapchat Slapped With Trademark Lawsuit After Rebrand

Snapchats new logo.

The company behind Snapchat, which recently changed its name to Snap Inc., is now facing a trademark lawsuit over its new moniker. Snap Interactive, a company that operates dating applications for social media websites, filed the suit at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, October 25.

Snapchat’s rebranding was intended to reflect the company’s expanding goals. "We rebranded our company to Snap Inc. because we are bigger than just one app," chief strategy officer Imran Khan told Adweek. "Snap Inc. is a camera company—we believe that reinventing the camera represents our greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate."

In a blog post on the site, co-founder Evan Spiegel wrote that the name ‘Snapchat Inc.’ initially made sense because Snapchat was the company’s only product. “Now that we are developing other products, like Spectacles,” he said, “we need a name that goes beyond just one product – but doesn’t lose the familiarity and fun of our team and brand.”

Snap Interactive, however, has been using its name since 2008 with a trademark registration for “online social networking services.” The company fears the similar names could be a potential source of confusion for users and investors.

According to the complaint, "Defendant’s use of Snap Inc. as a trade name will lead consumers of Defendant’s products and services to believe, mistakenly, that Defendant’s company is part of a joint venture between Plaintiff and Defendant, that Defendant’s company is related to or is the same company as Plaintiff, or that Defendant’s goods and services offered under the Snap Inc. name come from or are approved or authorized by Plaintiff — and/or that Defendant is the source of Plaintiff’s products and services (i.e., reverse confusion)."

Along with concerns about customer confusion, Snap Interactive raised allegations of unfair competition and trademark infringement against Snap Inc. The company has requested an injunction to block the name change.

“Defendant’s newly adopted Snap Inc. trade name incorporates Plaintiff’s Snap name in its entirety, is shortened to Snap alone in press coverage and other public references to the company, and is confusingly similar to Plaintiff’s Snap name and marks,” the complaint says. “Further, Defendant is using the infringing trade name in connection with social networking services that overlap and/or are closely related to Plaintiff’s services.”

Following Snap Interactive’s recent merger with tech company Paltalk, the company has seen a spike in media coverage. Snap Interactive alleges that recent rumours of a Snap Inc. IPO further complicate matters, as publicity for the company is likely to increase as well.

“This risk to Plaintiff’s reputation has the potential to be particularly damaging now, in light of Plaintiff’s recent high-profile merger with Paltalk and the resulting press coverage touting Plaintiff Snap’s online video conferencing capabilities,” the complaint says. “Its reputation is crucial to the success of that ongoing venture.”

The case is Snap Interactive Inc. v. Snap Inc., case number 1:16-cv-08313 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.