WeWork Sues China’s UrWork for Trademark Infringement

WeWork, the New York-based shared workspace company, is lodging a legal fight in New York’s Southern District Court against China-based rival, UrWork, for trademark infringement and demanded the firm to stop its plan of launching in Manhattan where WeWork dominates the market.

The American startup has been valued at about $20 billion.

WeWork versus UrWork

The argument states that UrWork is a name that is quite so similar to WeWork given that both firms operate in the co-working industry. It claimed that UrWork copied parts of its name, logo, mobile application icon, and even its office design resembled its own.

The Chinese company’s name showed defining characteristics with WeWork’s trademark, specifically a two-syllable word beginning with a two-letter pronoun and joined with the word “Work,” it said in the filing.

“WeWork has invested substantial time and money building a superior brand to ensure that our brand name is uniquely associated with WeWork and its offerings,” a WeWork spokesman said.

“UrWork has no physical presence and no brand equity in the United States, so there is no reason for them to enter our home market with such confusingly similar name,” the complaint said, and that would mislead potential customers into believing UrWork’s services are affiliated or sponsored by WeWork, the company said.

The complaint follows  a separate legal action taken against the Chinese firm in London with WeWork accusing it of “passing off,” which can take place when one business misrepresents their services as being the product of another.

The lawsuit was also filed against Serendipity Labs, a shared workplace provider based in Rye, New York that announced in July a partnership with UrWork to open a 34,000 square foot co-branded location in Lower, Manhattan. It said the  deal would give its members immediate access to 78 locations in China.

The partnership with Serendipity would have put the UrWork brand on the doorstep of WeWork’s home territory.

About UrWork

UrWork is reported to have a valuation over $1 billion, having raised nearly $165 million from investors like Sequoia, Zhen Fund and Aikang Group. It said it has more than 100 spaces overall, with one in Singapore and the rest in China.

It also unveiled plans of expanding to Singapore, London, Los Angeles, and plans to open its first office in New York  City soon, but these have yet to come in fulfillment.

About WeWork

WeWork said it has 165 locations in 53 cities worldwide, including more than 20 major U.S. cities. WeWork operates 38 locations in New York City, including five in  the Financial District, where the UrWork-Serendipity Labs ventures is set to launch in November.

As for WeWork, it is a global firm with co-working spaces stretching across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It has already entered China with co-working spaces in Shanghai and Beijing. It actually has six locations in China. WeWork recently bought the Singaporean co-working company Spacemob to start its presence in Southeast Asia.

 
In late August, WeWork raised a $4.4 billion funding round led by Softbank that valued it at $20 billion.