Indian Startup Founder Battles US AI Giant Anthropic Over Trademark

Mulla told IANS in an interaction that he got Anthropic Software registered in 2017 in the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and also enrolled under the 'Startup India' and Startup Karnataka -- both in 2017 itself.

"We got funding from the government for one of our patented products. We got a patent in 2018... We received one order from the government in 2021. We are very much into education technology, where we do a lot of work for students from village areas to bring them to the mainstream by preparing them for competitive examinations," he said.

Earlier this week, a commercial court in Karnataka's Belagavi issued fresh summons to US-based artificial intelligence company Anthropic in connection with a trademark infringement suit filed by the state-based firm over the mark "Anthropic".

The order was passed on Monday by Principal District and Sessions Judge Manjunath Nayak after representatives of the American company failed to appear before the court on February 16 despite an earlier summons.

Belagavi-based Anthropic Software has sought a temporary injunction restraining the US entity from directly or indirectly passing itself off as being associated with it by using the mark "Anthropic" or any other identical or deceptively similar mark.

Mulla told IANS that on August 25 last year, "we got a legal notice, not directly, but via our cloud vendor, to stop using the name Anthropic".

"We were told to stop all the services immediately. But then, we replied to them that we are the company registered before them and have legally followed all the documents and procedures. The discussion went on for a month, and then, they kept quiet," he informed.

After that, US-based Anthropic announced in December that they are coming to India and establish their business in 2026.

In January, Anthropic announced to hire Irina Ghose as Managing Director for the India market, as it prepares to open its first office in the country. This week, it announced it has opened a Bengaluru office, its second in Asia after Tokyo, and will focus on hiring local talent across a wide array of roles.

According to Mulla, the market confusion over the name has resulted in heavy monetary losses to them.

"My web traffic is going to them, and when people search Anthropic, it ends up with them. We have more than 500 educational institutions as our customers. We have apps. Students use it, parents use it," he told IANS.

The next court hearing date in the 'Anhropic' matter is March 9.

"They should not do any engagement. They should withdraw everything which is associated with our name. That is why we have gone to the court. If the government wants the startup ecosystem to grow, it should protect the rights of the startups. I have full faith in our judiciary as well as the government," Mulla told IANS.

- IANS