DailyBasket, a hybrid grocery startup currently serving in Coimbatore, plans to fight BigBasket, which leveled allegations against it for trademark infringement.
BigBasket had sent a notice to bootstrapped DailyBasket in this regard. In retaliation, the Coimbatore-based startup launched a website bbisabully.com with a writeup calling BigBasket as a bully.
On the website, DailyBasket talks about a cease and desist letter from BigBasket to close down its operations and hand over its domains to BigBasket because it has ‘basket’ in its brand and sells groceries online.
The startup denied BigBasket’s allegations by saying, “Though we have a word ‘basket’ in our brand and we do deliver online groceries, it doesn’t mean we copied their trademarks or unethically copied their website & apps.
We never misuse BigBasket’s brand in any way as they claimed in the cease and desist letter. That’s a blatant lie. This is our attempt to debunk their claims.”
DailyBasket also said that the Alibaba-funded firm has asked them to stop using the domain name dailybasket.com and discontinue the mobile apps.
BigBasket also asked DailyBasket to stop all the operations immediately and transfer its domain name dailybasket.com to them immediately for free of cost, the Coimbatore-based startup alleged.
It also alleged that BigBasket has asked them to pay their legal team Rs 2 lakh to cover the legal notice and stay away from using a similar domain containing “basket” as a prominent feature for good.
BigBasket also alleged that DailyBasket had deliberately copied the layout and getup of its client’s website to mischievously associate it with its client’s brand “BigBasket”.
“Our client was also shocked to see that you have recently created a mobile App under name “Daily Basket Coimbatore-Best grocery delivery app”, to conduct your aforesaid e-commerce business operation, which is also extremely similar to our client’s mobile applications for offering their services and selling products available at the BigBasket.com marketplace,” BigBasket alleged.
“By using the said mobile App, you are trying to create an impression that you are associated with BigBasket for Coimbatore, which in fact, is not the case,” it added.
Following these allegations, the website then goes on to show a side-by-side comparison of the websites and mobile applications of the companies in order to display the difference between them.
The company further said that it was planning to fight BigBasket.
“We put this in open so we want to fight them in public. We are a tiny bootstrapped company currently only serving in Coimbatore and about to open our first physical location. We don’t have that mighty power & money BigBasket possesses to engage in endless lawsuits and unlawful intimidations.
But we will show the truth in public to everyone to see what BigBasket has become. And how a big billion-dollar company sees an upcoming startup as a competition and trying to eliminate us with corporate bullying,” DailyBasket said.
“We urge the BigBasket management to look into this matter and stop sending such threatening emails to upcoming startups. You are crying foul when you are the one engaging in unfair competition & unlawful demands with a tiny 2 person startup,” it added.
Currently, the startup operates one warehouse and about to open a mini-store on February 25.
