US AI Firm Admits to Indian Unit in Trademark Fight

UPDATE - follow-up to Anthropic PB admits to having an Indian subsidiary, contradicts earlier stand in court: The legal battle over the Anthropic brand name has shifted after the American artificial intelligence company Anthropic PBC told the Belagavi Commercial Court that it runs a fully owned branch in India.

The Dispute

Mohammad Ayyaz Mulla, who started the Belagavi firm Anthropic Softwares Private Limited, says his local business secured the trademark for the name long before the foreign tech firm entered the market. He points out that the US company earlier denied direct ties, but its latest court submission confirms the Indian subsidiary exists and is led by managing director Irina Ghose. For nearly a year, the local Indian branch fought against joining the lawsuit, claiming it had no connection to the US enterprise.

Business Impact

Mr. Mulla states that mistaken emails meant for the American firm keep arriving at his local business despite multiple warnings. He warns that this confusion harms brand identity and creates serious data security risks by sending private messages to the wrong inbox.

Context

Trademark law generally protects businesses that register and use a brand name first within a region, meaning local registrations can challenge later entries by global brands. Companies often set up local subsidiaries to handle regional operations while maintaining separate corporate structures.