Muslim relationship app Muzz has lost its court appeal against the Match Group. The UK Court of Appeal has upheld the June 2022 ruling which found that the name ‘Muzmatch’ unfairly benefitted from the reputation of Match.
A spokesperson for the Match Group told the BBC “We’ve always known that Muzmatch has unfairly benefitted from our reputation and investment in our brands, and was unrightfully riding Match Group’s coat-tails for its own gain”.
“We will keep protecting the work and creativity of our employees as we continue to spark meaningful connections for all singles, of all backgrounds, all around the world”, they continued.
In response, Muzz issued a statement calling the result “deeply worrying for other start-ups in the dating sector”.
Shahzad Younas, Founder and CEO of Muzz, told the BBC that legal action was a strategy used by the Match Group to “maintain their globally dominant position”.
“How about actually innovating and building better products, rather than using such lazy and predatory tactics against your rivals?” Younas said.
Younas shared that the legal fees and damages incurred by the legal proceedings amounted to almost $2 million. He explained that while this was a relatively small fee for the Match Group, it was a significant amount for a startup like Muzz.
“It is clear to us that Match Group will do all they can to kill us with a view to them maintaining their near monopoly on the global dating market”, Younas said.
But this Court of Appeal ruling is not the last legal action between the Match Group and Muzz. A patent infringement case started by Match Group was filed against Muzz in Texas just recently.
Shahzad Younas said that in this new case “the patent itself is rather abstract and generic in nature and describes the method of matching two individuals in a manner that is used in nearly every single dating app out there. We believe we are the first test case/’victim’ to now suffer their litigation”.