Muslim dating app Muzmatch loses trademark battle with Tinder owner
The firm behind Tinder and Hinge has won a court battle with a British dating app for Muslims Muzmatch after it was accused of copying its product.
The UK intellectual property and enterprise court ruled that the world’s largest Muslim dating app had infringed the trademark of Match Group.
Part of this claim included using keyword tags like “match-muslim” and “uk-muslim-match”, and may mean Muzmatch is forced to change its name.
A Match Group spokesperson told the Guardian: “We are pleased that the court recognised what we have known to be true: that Muzmatch has unfairly benefited from Match Group’s reputation and investment in its brand and was riding Match Group’s coattails for undeserved gain in this highly competitive market.
“We have, and will always protect the work, creativity and innovations of our employees, and are grateful that the court recognised this and ruled accordingly.”
Meanwhile, it is understood that Muzmatch’s chief executive, Shahzad Younas, will appeal the decision.
The Tinder firm has previously taken on Bumble in a legal battle and has been seen to dominant the dating app space.
Discussing the case, intellectual property partner at law firm Gowling WLG John Coldham said:”This is high profile example of the urgent need for start-ups and innovative new businesses to perform the necessary clearance checks before deciding on a brand name, especially where well-known names within the same business class/ category is concerned.
“If in doubt about whether your chosen brand is too close, it is well worth getting advice early in the naming process.