E-Commerce Giant Alibaba Blasts 'Alibabacoin' in Trademark Lawsuit
Chinese multinational Alibaba is suing a Dubai-based firm who allegedly used the company's branding to promote and profit from an ICO.
Apr 3, 2018 at 6:35 p.m. UTC
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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has filed suit against the founders of a cryptocurrency named "Alibabacoin," arguing that the project is infringing on its trademark.
The company launched the legal fight on Monday, submitting a complaint through the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Alibaba said that the defendants misappropriated its brand in an effort to raise $3.5 million through an ICO.
Lawyers for the e-commerce firm wrote:
U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood subsequently issued a temporary restraining order to the Dubai-based Alibabacoin Foundation, requiring it to explain by April 11 why it should not be prevented from additional infractions, per a report from Reuters.
Alibaba further claimed that several unidentified news outlets have falsely reported an affiliation between Alibaba and the Alibabacoin Foundation. In a March 26 press release, the Foundation disputed the claim that it has a relationship with Alibaba, stating that the project's backers "don’t have any particular correlation, affiliate, agreement, partnership, nor any contract whatsoever with Alibaba.com."
The e-commerce company is seeking an injunction against the Foundation, in addition to unspecified damages.
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Alibaba's complaint can be found below:
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