Tinder takes on Muslim love rival: US dating giant Match Group launches legal war with UK-based Islamic app Muzmatch after accusing it of copying their product and services
- Match Group is the powerhouse behind matchmaking apps Tinder and Hinge
- Firm accuses British Muslim dating app Muzmatch of trademark infringement
- The legal battle centres around the use of 'match' in Muzmatch's metadata
- Muzmatch rejects all allegations ahead of court hearing later this month
US dating giant Match Group has launched a legal war with UK-based Islamic matchmaking app Muzmatch after accusing it of copying their product and services.
Match Group, which claims its mission is to 'spark meaningful connections for every single person worldwide ', has accused the UK firm of trademark infringement.
The company is best known for Tinder, a dating app introduced in 2012 in which users swipe right to show their interest in potential suitors or swipe left to skip a profile.
It is also behind OkCupid and Hinge, an app with a 'commitment to helping people find love' and which claims to have been responsible for 30 million dates.
Muzmatch, meanwhile, was founded a decade ago by CEO Shahzad Younas, 37, a former Morgan Stanley banker with the aim of providing an environment for single Muslims to meet online.
It claims to be the 'world's biggest community for single Muslims to find their perfect partner' with four million users across 190 countries - emphasising marriage as opposed to casual dating.
Match Group first wrote to Muzmatch in 2016 alleging acts of trademark infringement, before trying to acquire it a year later, The Times reports.
The Muzmatch app was created with the aim of providing an environment for single Muslims to meet online. It is accused of trademark infringement by
The Tinder app (pictured) allows users to swipe left and right to potential suitors. The company behind it is suing Muzmatch over trademark infringement
Shahzad Younas, CEO and founder of Muzmatch, which has denied any wrongdoing from the outset
Shar Dubey, CEO of Match Group, the firm behind huge dating apps Tinder, Hing and OkCupid among others
Match Group is best known for creating Tinder, introduced in 2012, which allows users to swipe left and right to show interest or a ack of interest in potential suitors
Dating app Hinge also claims to have a 'commitment to helping people find love' and claims to have been responsible for 30 million date
It made four offers to purchase the business, including a fee of $35 million, but Muzmatch rejected the offers.
Match went on to acquire Harmonica, an Egyptian-based Muslim dating app Harmonica in 2019, renaming it Hawaya.
The American group alleges that Muzmatch has used 'match' in its metadata, namely data that provides information about other data, in its website to help it appear more prominently in internet searches.
The firm adds that Muzmatch has used keyword tags of 'match-muslim' and 'uk-muslim-match', which it claims are an attempt to 'ride on the coattails' of its registered marks.
Muzmatch, though, has rejected the allegations from the outset and says Match does not have a monopoly over the word 'match' in dating services.
Its defence adds that its website and app provides matchmaking services for Muslims seeking marriage in correlation with Islamic values, with users pursuing casual dates and sexual conversations blocked from the app.
A hearing is listed to take place at the UK Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court in London on January 17.
US dating giant Match Group launches legal war with UK-based Islamic app Muzmatch - Daily Mail
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