Motion to End Lawsuit Over Online Profiles Tying Man to Past Blockchain, NFT Roles Denied in Part

On Friday, July 19, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a ruling in the trademark infringement case “Portkey Technologies Pte Ltd. v. Venkateswaran.”

The case involves a dispute between Portkey Technologies, its founder Vignesh Sundaresan, and former contractor Anand Venkateswaran. According to court documents, Sundaresan directed Venkateswaran’s work at Portkey, a software and technology company involved in blockchain, NFT and other Web3 projects, under the pseudonym “TWOBADOUR” from 2017 to 2022. Venkateswaran also assisted in operating METAPURSE, a fund used by Portkey to acquire digital art NFTs and virtual land.

However, the professional relationship between Sundaresan and Venkateswaran ended in 2022 due to rising tensions. After leaving Portkey, Venkateswaran continued referencing his past work under TWOBADOUR and with METAPURSE in his online profiles and statements. Portkey and Sundaresan alleged these references constituted unfair competition, false advertising, trademark infringement and related state law claims.

In their lawsuit, Portkey and Sundaresan claimed TWOBADOUR and METAPURSE as protected trademarks. They argued Venkateswaran’s ongoing references to the marks caused consumer confusion and misrepresented his current affiliation. Venkateswaran filed a motion to dismiss, asserting there was no plausible basis for confusion from accurately representing past positions and that his statements constituted nominative fair use.

In its ruling, the District Court denied in part and granted in part Venkateswaran’s motion to dismiss. The court allowed the trademark infringement, New York trademark dilution and common law claims to proceed, finding the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged a likelihood of confusion based on an analysis of the eight Polaroid factors. However, the court dismissed the unfair competition, false advertising, and deceptive practices claims, reasoning the plaintiffs did not show literal falsity, comparative advertising, or harm to public interest.

The District Court’s decision indicates the lawsuit will continue regarding whether Venkateswaran’s ongoing references to the TWOBADOUR and METAPURSE marks infringe Portkey and Sundaresan’s trademark rights.

Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.