Loandepot is suing
In a recently filed complaint, Loandepot accuses Melio, a payment platform app, of trademark infringement. Melio's logo, according to the lending giant, is uncannily similar to its own, "which amplifies consumer confusion," the suit filed June 27 in a California federal court said.
This is especially a problem because the company is now expanding into the real estate sphere and it potentially infringes on Loandepot's business if consumers assume there's an affiliation or connection between Melio and Loandepot, the suit claims.
A spokesman from Loandepot declined to comment, noting the "complaint speaks for itself." Melio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Loandepot had its eye on Melio's logo for a number of years. In 2019, Loandepot filed a notice of opposition to Melio's attempt to register its logo for use in connection with financial services in international classes. (The payment company is headquartered in Israel, but expanded its offices to also include New York.)
The Irvine, California-based mortgage lender claimed there was a likelihood of consumer confusion with Loandepot's Mello.
But at the time, Melio was not involved in the real estate industry, so the two agreed to enter into a limited coexistence agreement. As long as Melio refrained "from all use of the MELIO Mark in the field of real estate financing transactions," the two parties could continue operating side-by-side.
That changed once Melio expanded its offerings to include financial services to consumers operating within the real estate industry in early 2024, and started to change the stylization of its name.
Melio's "new stylization of their Melio mark, coupled with their recent expansion into the real estate sphere, creates an untenable likelihood of consumer confusion with Loandepot's Mello marks, which uses a similar stylization and offers services to consumers in the real estate space," the lender's complaint reads.
The similarities between the two trademarks constitutes unlawful and unfair trade practices and unfair competition in violation of California state law, Loandepot argues. Loandepot is seeking injunctive relief to prevent "irreparable harm" that will be caused by FlashHouse's use of a similar logo.
Interestingly enough, this is not the first suit filed against a competitor with an allegedly similar looking and sounding logo. In February, the mortgage lender sued Flashhouse LLC's real estate platform fello for being a copycat.
In the suit, the mortgage lender points out similarities between the style and look of the two logos. It also claims the email addresses created for customer outreach are strikingly alike. (Loandepot has a hello@mellohome.com email, while FlashHouse uses a hello@hifello.com email.)
Such similarities could contribute to deception among the general public where they might assume that fello is associated with Loandepot, the suit claims.
That case is still pending as of Monday.
