Visier Seeks to Halt Google’s Wrongful Use of ‘Nearly Identical’ Mark

Long after Visier began using its federally registered trademark in connection its machine-learning-based people analytics software application, Google began using the “nearly identical” mark Vizier for software that optimizes the performance of ML platforms, said a Visier trademark infringement and unfair competition suit Monday (docket 3:22-cv-05323) in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Visier promptly contacted Google, advising the company of its trademark rights and its concern that Google’s “use of a nearly identical mark for software that is both closely related and complementary to the software offered by Visier is likely to cause confusion among consumers,” said the complaint. Visier asked Google to stop using the Vizier mark and transition to a new name, but Google “has refused to do so,” it said. Amid Google’s ability to “swamp the market” via its search engine and other means, “there is a real danger that consumers could be led to believe that Visier is simply reselling or repackaging Google technology, or is infringing upon Google’s intellectual property rights, causing reverse confusion,” said the complaint. It seeks an injunction and statutory damages for violations of the Lanham Act, plus a recovery of Google’s profits associated with its infringement. Google didn’t comment.