In the world of cryptocurrency, there are quite a few projects which will find themselves in legal trouble sooner or later. This is especially true when such projects use the name of a person, brand, or company in an effort to gain more legitimacy. For Alibabacoin, it seems the end is near.
Alibabacoin is in the hot Seat
When Alibabacoin was first introduced, people immediately knew things would implode at some point. It seems now is that point, as Alibaba has filed a trademark lawsuit against the Dubai-based firm that created it. It’s an unsurprising turn of events, as Alibabacoin has nothing to do with the e-commerce giant. Nor is the Dubai firm allowed to use the term Alibaba, as it is already trademarked.
To put all of this into perspective, Alibabacoin was created some time ago. It is also known as the ABBC Foundation and is seemingly trying to make an impact in the world of cryptocurrency. Whether or not it chose a controversial name on purpose or simply thought it would not constitute trademark infringement remains to be seen. However, it is evident the company will have a lot of explaining to do in this regard.
According to the lawsuit, the firm or its legal team will have the opportunity to explain themselves in front of a US district court on April 11. Depending on how that pans out, the Dubai company may face additional charges for other infringements.
Additionally, the lawsuit seeks to prevent further infringements as well as obtain compensatory, punitive, and triple damages for alleged violations of the law. Exact dollar amounts are unknown for the time being, but this lawsuit is probably the nail in the coffin for Alibabacoin.
Indeed, Alibabacoin is seemingly intent on capitalizing on the success of Alibaba, despite not having any ties to the company. Moreover, it has used Alibaba’s trademarks in “countless instances” to sell its native cryptocurrency. Although it is not the first time we’ve seen currencies like these be created, it is one of the few times when the trademark’s owner has decided to take matters to court.
Considering that this currency was making people believe Alibaba had a stake in cryptocurrencies, it is only normal that the confusion was becoming a bit too problematic. Alibaba has stated that it wants nothing to do with cryptocurrency, and it is evident not much will change in that regard. At the same time, Alibabacoin’s team had plenty of time to rebrand or make it clear they were not associated with the e-commerce giant. For some reason, they decided not to do so.
