Payments platform Wirex has won a High Court trademark infringement claim in the U.K. against several businesses for the unauthorized use of the name of a cryptocurrency rewards scheme.
According to a press release on Wednesday from law firm Brown Rudnick LLP, Wirex has been successful in its legal bid against Cryptocarbon Global Ltd., Cryptocarbon UK Ltd. and Bee-One UK Ltd.
The infringement case was brought to trial in January against the defendants for their use of the registered trademark “Cryptoback.” Wirex was the “worlds first company” to use the term in its cryptocurrency rewards scheme, the law firm says.
Wirex has also been successful in getting the defendant‘s counterclaims, including an attempt to invalidate Wirex’s trademark, dismissed.
The Cryptoback scheme offers a small percentage of the transaction value back to Wirex customers in bitcoin (BTC, -2.97%) when using its card for in-store purchases.
The case highlights the importance for Wirex and other companies to protect and enforce their trademarks, according to Steven James, partner at Brown Rudnick. “This is especially true in the case of the crypto industry, which has seen rapid growth but also a large number of copycat or otherwise infringing offerings,” he said.