Groupon, Scoopon face off in court but Packer investment complicates battle

The long-awaited legal battle between global group-buying giant Groupon and local industry leader Scoopon has begun, with the two companies meeting in the Melbourne Federal Court to begin proceedings over a trademark dispute.

However, it seems the fight has become slightly more complicated after media mogul James Packer, as part of a consortium, invested $80 million in Scoopon.

Groupon filed a lawsuit against Scoopon last year, accusing the company of registering the Groupon.com.au URL and trademark. The global giant wants back both of these, along with the Scoopon.com.au domain.

According to Fairfax, Groupon believes the investment makes the case slightly more complex, and says questions need to be answered over whether consortium members will be introduced as witnesses.

“What’s happened recently is that our friends have sold the Scoopon business to a new entity which has become the fifth respondent, and so that involves a new round of pleading,” Groupon counsel Adrian Ryan said.

While introducing Packer into the fight may make the situation more complex, it may also give Scoopon the necessary funds to defeat Groupon if the case continues for some time. Already it has stretched on for more than six months and hearings are not set to begin until August.

Groupon said in its original lawsuit that Scoopon’s use of the Groupon.com.au trademark had confused some customers, and that its rival was attempting to gain sales as a result. Groupon chief executive Andrew Mason even addressed this in a blog post, claiming Groupon had reneged on an offer to buy the URL for nearly $300,000.

“Scoopon went a little further than just starting their Groupon clone – they actually purchased the Groupon.com.au domain name, took the company name Groupon Pty Limited, and tried to register the Groupon trademark (filing for the trademark just seven days before us) in Australia,” Mason said earlier this year.