NEW DELHI, India — A trademark dispute over the name “Anthropic” has expanded to include both the U.S.-based artificial intelligence company Anthropic PBC and its Indian subsidiary, Anthropic India Private Limited, according to the founder of Anthropic Software.
Mohammad Ayyaz Mulla said Tuesday that both companies will now be required to appear in court after the Indian entity was formally added to the ongoing trademark infringement case.
Speaking to IANS, Mulla said the Indian subsidiary appeared before the court on March 9 after receiving a summons. Representatives for the company argued that Anthropic India Private Limited is a separate legal entity from the U.S.-based Anthropic PBC, which had originally been named in the case.
“On the last date, we had issued summons to Anthropic India Private Limited and they appeared before the court on March 9. Their argument was that they are Anthropic India Private Limited, while we had made Anthropic PBC a party to the case,” Mulla said.
Mulla explained that when the case was filed in early January, the Indian subsidiary had not yet been established.
“Anthropic India Private Limited, which is the Indian wing of the US company, got registered only at the end of January. When we filed the case, they were not registered, so we made the US company a party,” he said.
After the subsidiary was incorporated, legal notice was sent to its local office. However, representatives for the Indian unit argued that the parent company and the subsidiary are legally distinct and therefore should not be treated as the same party in the proceedings.
“They argued that the company we made a party is different and they are technically a separate company. With this argument they were trying to pull the case away,” Mulla said.
The court has now allowed the Indian subsidiary to be formally added to the case, meaning both the U.S. parent company and its Indian arm will be required to respond to the trademark dispute.
“We were able to implead them successfully and continue the case. Now along with the US company, we are also making this Indian company a party. From the next hearing, both the Indian company and the US company will have to appear in the case,” Mulla said. (Source: IANS)
