The Madhya Pradesh Congress has been threatened with legal action by digital wallet and online payment firm PhonePe for exploiting its name and emblem on posters distributed throughout the state. PhonePe requested the grand old party to remove its logo from the posters while distancing itself from all political parties.
The PhonePe logo is a registered trademark of our company and any unauthorized use of PhonePe’s intellectual property rights will invite legal action. We humbly request @INCMP to remove the posters and banners featuring our brand logo and colour 🙏.
— PhonePe (@PhonePe) June 26, 2023
The vehement response from the online payment app is in response to posters put up by the Congress party that feature MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
"Our company's trademark, the PhonePe logo, is registered, and any unauthorized use of PhonePe's intellectual property rights will result in legal action. We humbly ask @INCMP to take down the posters and banners that feature our brand's color and logo, the PhonePe tweeted.
Congress has displayed these posters all around the state as part of their campaign for the next assembly election. The party also posted images of the posters to its official Twitter account.
Days after the state's ruling party singled out opposition leader Kamalnath for corruption in its posters, the Congress released posters criticizing CM Shivraj.
BJP member in Gwalior files an FIR
In Gwalior, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reported a crime to the local police. The complainant claimed that his party and the leader were being disparaged by these posters in the lawsuit filed against unidentified defendants. According to Gwalior SP Rajesh Singh Chandel, a probe is now being conducted.
Such posters were quite successful for Congress in Karnataka.
In the Karnataka elections, the Congress party's decision to integrate QR codes of online payment apps in their posters has been a big success. Prior to the state assembly elections in Karnataka, the party used the slogans "40% sarkar" and "PayCM" to criticize the previous chief executive, Basavaraj S. Bommai.
