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Alibaba Wins Suit against Crypto Firm over “Alibabacoin”

By Shannon Wilson | March 14, 2019
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Alibaba Wins Suit against Crypto Firm over “Alibabacoin"

After legal action from China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, Dubai-based cryptocurrency firm ABBC Foundation has agreed to stop using the name “Alibabacoin” for its native token.

ABBC Foundation revealed the settlement of the suit filed in a US district court in New York on March 11. The firm, previously known as Alibabacoin Foundation, changed its name to ABBC Foundation and said it regretted any confusion arising from its former use of name. ABBC Foundation also changed the name of its coin into ABBC coin.

Alibaba, whose name is trademarked, had accused ABBC Foundation almost a year ago of confusing the public and hurting its business in the US. ABBC Foundation had previously raised more than $3.5 million on Alibabacoins.

In its defense, ABBC Foundation had stated that it did not try to take advantage of the retail giant’s name, as China’s 2017 ban on initial coin offerings eliminated the main source of possible confusion.

Not long after, in May 2018, a US court first ruled against Alibaba’s request for an injunction against the crypto firm. In October, however, Alibaba won a preliminary injunction against it when it was still known as Alibabacoin Foundation at the time.

Reuters said that as of press time (Mar 11), Alibaba had not replied to requests for comments on the matter, while its US-based lawyer declined comment.

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