HP sued by Wex for trademark infringement over 'Wex' software
11/04/2024 15:32
By Blake Brittain
April 11 (Reuters) - Software company Wex Inc WEX.N
sued HP Inc HPQ.N for trademark infringement in Maine federal
court on Thursday, accusing it of misusing the "Wex" name to
brand competing HP software.
Wex, which specializes in payment-processing and
information-management applications, said that HP's recently
announced "HP Wex" workforce-management platform will confuse
customers.
Confusion is likely given "the similarities between the
software, fleet and data management, and employee solutions
offered by Wex on the one hand, and the 'Wex'-branded software,
fleet and data management, and employee solutions offered by HP
on the other," the lawsuit said.
Wex asked for unspecified monetary damages and an order
forcing HP to stop using the "Wex" name.
Representatives for HP did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on the complaint.
Wex spokesperson Jessica Roy said in a statement that HP's
use of "Wex" will "inevitably sow confusion in the marketplace"
and that the company filed the complaint "to prevent harm to our
brand."
Wex offers software for corporate payments, managing vehicle
fleets and administering employee benefit plans. The Portland,
Maine-based company, which formerly specialized in fuel cards
for the trucking industry and was known as Wright Express,
changed its name to Wex in 2012.
Palo Alto, California-headquartered HP announced its "HP
Wex" information-technology "workforce experience platform" in
March. Wex said in the lawsuit that HP adopted the name "either
knowingly or in reckless disregard of Wex's incontestable
trademark rights."
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington, Editing by Franklin
Paul)
((blake.brittain@tr.com; +1 (202) 938-5713;))