On October 10, Finco Services, Inc., sued, Facebook, Inc., and its subsidiaries Calibra, Inc., and JLV, LLC., as well as branding and design agency, Character SF, LLC, for trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), all from claims of the Defendants’ unauthorized use of Finco Services trademarks and service marks through the Defendant’s Calibra product. Finco Services, represented by Protorae Law will go before Judge P. Kevin Castel in the New York Southern District Court.
Facebook announced the creation of Calibra on June 18 providing a digital wallet for Facebook’s forthcoming ‘Libra’ cryptocurrency. The digital wallet, also called Calibra, will be available as a mobile app that allows users to save, send, and spend money using the Libra cryptocurrency. Businesses can use Calibra to easily accept payments from customers in person and online.
Plaintiff Current is an online banking and financial service company, who paid Character to create a logo design for Current. Current claims the designs Character created for Calibra are similar in design and for similar products and Current therefore claims the design to be a trademark infringement likely to confuse consumers. The registration included “in connection with a mobile computer software application used for enabling cryptocurrency-based transactions.”
Seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive and monetary relief, Finco Services, operating under the name Current, enumerated counts of federal and common law trademark infringement, false designation of origin and breach of good faith against all parties.
Facebook is no stranger to the public spotlight. October 23, Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify before Congress for a hearing on “An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors.” The Libra cryptocurrency is set to launch in 2020. The Libra Association held its inaugural meeting this week, in the wake of payment processors and credit card companies pulling their backing of the project as it faces regulatory scrutiny.
