Clubhouse is being sued for trademark infringement by a sports networking site. Experts are divided on whether the case will succeed.

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MSN report

• Clubhouse has been sued for trademark infringement by an Arizona company running “TheClubhouse.”
• Alpha Exploration Co., which launched Clubhouse, hasn’t trademarked the name, experts said.
• The complaint sought to bar Alpha Exploration Co. from using the name for its app.

A trademark lawsuit filed against audio-chat app Clubhouse raised questions about whether the company sought to protect its name via a US trademark.

“It is interesting that Clubhouse, a company valued at $4 billion, has no registered trademark and appears not to have even applied for registration in the US,” said Christine Haight Farley, a professor at American University Washington College of Law.

Alpha Exploration Co., which launched the invite-only Clubhouse app last spring, was issued a summons last week, according to court documents.

SBS Consulting Group said in its complaint that the Clubhouse app infringed on the trademark it received for “TheClubhouse,” a networking site for sports business professionals.

The complaint sought a trial and damages. It also sought to bar Alpha Exploration Co. from using the name for its app.

The complaint, filed in US district court in Arizona, said the overlap between the two services included both content and features.

The sports consulting firm’s website listed more than a hundred clients at the NBA, MLB, NHL, and other pro sports leagues. Its complaint included screenshots of the Clubhouse app, which had rooms titled “Pro Sports Network” and “Sports Biz Professionals.”

“Included in AEC’s ‘CLUBHOUSE’ topics of interests and clubs are a variety of networking, career growth, and sports business categories selections,” the complaint said.

The Chicago law firm representing SBS Consulting Group declined to comment on the complaint. Clubhouse didn’t respond to a request for comment.

It’s common for a quickly growing company like Clubhouse to attract lawsuits, some of which may be opportunistic or without merit, said Michael Atkins, a Seattle trademark lawyer, who teaches at the University of Washington School of Law.

SBS Consulting Group launched its “TheClubhouse” site in November 2018. It filed its registration for “THECLUBHOUSE” in May 2019 and the trademark was granted in December of that year. On its website, the name is styled as “theClubhouse.”

Because the Clubhouse app was the second to the market with its Clubhouse name, the case will center on whether there was the possibility for “reverse confusion.” That’s when a smaller company trademarks its name, which subsequently gets confused by consumers with a newer, bigger rival.

“By flooding the market with advertising and superior name recognition, it really deprives the first mover of the ability to exploit and grow their trademark, because everyone now is thinking that their trademark is the more well-known company’s trademark,” Atkins said via phone from Spain, where he’s waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic.

More at   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/clubhouse-is-being-sued-for-trademark-infringement-by-a-sports-networking-site-experts-are-divided-on-whether-the-case-will-succeed/ar-BB1gN3NZ?li=BBnb7Kz