U.S. income tax preparation company H&R Block has taken issue with Square’s recent name change to Block and has filed a lawsuit in federal court, according to a press release Thursday (Dec. 16).
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, alleges that Square’s rebranding to Block infringes on H&R Block’s trademarks. H&R Block is represented in this lawsuit by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Berkowitz Oliver LLP.
H&R Block has been referred to as “Block” since 2015. In the lawsuit, it accused Square of “stealing Block’s name in order to co-opt the reputation and goodwill that Block has earned through decades of hard work.”
“Block Inc.’s name change will deceive consumers and cause irreparable harm to Block,” H&R Block said in its complaint. “Consumers will mistakenly believe that Block is one of the ‘building blocks’ in the Block Inc. family of financial services companies.”
See also: Square Inc. is Now Block; Brand to Remain
H&R Block said it is now rival to Square-turned-Block ever since it bought Credit Karma Tax, now called Cash App Taxes, last year.
“Today’s filing is an important effort to prevent consumer confusion and ensure a competitor cannot leverage the reputation and trust we have built over more than six decades,” Jeff Jones, H&R Block president and CEO, said in the press release. “Protecting and defending our brand is crucial.”
Jack Dorsey, who recently stepped away from his role as CEO of Twitter, announced Square’s name change to Block earlier in December while the company was eyeing expansion beyond it routine business.
Read more: Block Users Can Gift Stock, Bitcoin on Cash App
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