elgavi court issues summons to US firm Anthropic over name clash with India’s Anthropic software

Feb 19, 2026

Belgavi (Karnataka), February 19, 2026 (ANI): On court issues summon to US based firm in trademark dispute, Anthropic Software Founder & Director, Mohammad Ayyaz Mulla says, "... Because we have been using Anthropic as our brand, confusion began to increase in mid-2025 and late-2025 as the other Anthropic, an American AI company's visibility online grew rapidly, which has made it difficult for our work to be found... When the American company announced its entry into India in December 2025 and established an office in Bengaluru, the searchability problem intensified. We have no objection to them doing business in India; our concern is that they should not use the name “Anthropic” in a way that supplants or erases our prior brand presence. For that reason, we sought an injunction. After they set up the Bangalore office, a second notice was sent to that office. They are expected to appear at the next hearing, scheduled for the 9th of March. Under Indian law, prior use carries protection: entities that used a mark earlier are protected for their prior rights..."