NPPA applied for the trademark rights for the brand name PayID, in 2017. While the name is the same as Ripple’s product, theirs has a space between both words (Pay ID).
The service allows users to link different information and manage them with one account. This includes email addresses and biodata. While the filling for the trademark was made in 2017, it was never registered. Ripple, on the other hand, filed for two PayID trademarks in 2020. Ripple’s PayID offers similar services as NPPA’s PayID. Part of the press release for Ripple’s PayID was;
“PayID brings together companies across all industries with an open solution for payments, marrying traditional finance, and the new world of fintech under one standard”, Ripple said at the time, adding that “PayID allows individuals to send and receive money across any payment network using an easy-to-read address versus one that’s awkward and unintuitive.”
NPPA noted that they filed the lawsuit because they want to protect their Australian customers;
“This action aims 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 – particularly one that does not offer the same level of protection as the NPP’s PayID, including the backing of the Australian banking sector and an extensive consumer protection framework. PayID subject to a comprehensive governance and liability framework and robust privacy and security controls.”
Max writes about blockchain projects and regulation with a special focus on United States and China. He joined Smarterum after years of writing for various media outlets.
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Ripple is under fire again as a new lawsuit has popped up against the blockchain company in Australia. A financial services firm in the country filed the lawsuit accusing Ripple of breaching its trademark with PayID. According to the lawsuit, the name of Ripple’s product is identical to a product they offer.
This confuses the market and presents many opportunities for fraudsters. The name of the company is New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA) filed the suit through the Federal Court in the United States over PayID.
PayID Australia Vs Ripple’s PayID
According to Decrypt, NPP already has a financial product called PayID. Their product is used by people in Australia to make real-time payments across banks in the country. These banks include ANZ, Citi, HSBC, ING, and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Part of the statement was as follows;
“To protect Australians from being misled by the launch in Australia of a cryptocurrency-based payment service using NPP Australia’s PayID service name and brand. There is a real concern that two services operating in the market with the same name will create confusion, opportunities for fraud and scams and be misleading for customers, who may assume the protections that apply to NPP Australia’s PayID service apply also to the services offered under the Open Payments Coalition banner.”
