Muslim dating site loses case against Tinder

A Muslim dating and marriage app, Muzmatch, lost a legal battle Wednesday against the owners of Tinder, one of the world’s most popular dating apps, after a British court ruled the startup had infringed on the multibillion-dollar company’s trademarks.

Match Group — a dating site conglomerate that owns Match.com, OKCupid and Hinge as well as Tinder — sued Muzmatch for infringing on its trademarked logo, using “match” in its name and “unfairly benefiting” from the company’s reputation and investment in its brand.

The ruling, from the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in London, could mean that Muzmatch, which says it has 6 million users around the world, must change its name and pay damages. Its founder and chief executive, Shahzad Younas, said Muzmatch would file an appeal.

“We’re more focused than ever on our mission of transforming how Muslims meet and marry,” he said.

Match Group said it was “pleased that the court recognized what we have known to be true: that Muzmatch has unfairly benefited from Match Group’s reputation and investment in its brand and was riding Match Group’s coattails for undeserved gain in this highly competitive market.”

In its court documents, Match argued that its dominance in the online dating market meant consumers would mistakenly assume Muzmatch was a “sub-brand” specifically targeted at Muslim users because of its use of “match” in its name.

Muzmatch said “match” was simply an English word associated with matchmaking.

Younas, a former investment banker, started Muzmatch in 2011, aiming to help single Muslims find spouses online in ways that were compatible with Islamic values. A mobile app was introduced in 2015. The service is often listed among the leading dating apps for Muslims and has attracted $9 million in financing.