J A Kemp Startup Client, TiPJAR, Wins Trade Mark Battle with Twitter

TiPJAR is an award-winning cashless tipping platform that allows individuals and teams to receive cashless tips directly from customers, then distribute them transparently and fairly amongst the team.

TiPJAR’s co-founder James Brown woke up one morning to discover that social media giant Twitter, now operating as X, had launched an online payment process called “Tip Jar” and was rolling it out internationally. He called on J A Kemp partner, Aaron Newell to advise.

Through a complicated journey involving the German court system, the J A Kemp legal team devised an astute strategy that ultimately culminated in favourable rulings both at first instance and on appeal, ultimately requiring Twitter to surrender the “Tip Jar” name. Twitter subsequently rebranded its payment function globally.

The TiPJAR team showed incredible resolve and were obviously prepared to do what was needed to protect their brand at this make-or-break moment for the business. We are happy that we could support them and get the most out of their efforts.

The result shows that there can be hope for startups even when facing aggressive IP challenges at early stages. It also highlights that no matter how big you are, there is no replacement for a good clearance programme before launching a new brand.