ADVERTISEMENT

H&R Block Is Suing Jack Dorsey's Block Over Name Change

H&R Block Is Suing Jack Dorsey's Block Over Name Change

A 65-year-old tax preparation company isn’t welcoming the new kid on the block.

H&R Block Inc. sued payments company Block Inc., formerly Square Inc., claiming a violation of its “Block” trademark. H&R Block claims San Francisco-based Block Inc., co-founded and run by former Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey, is a direct competitor in tax prep after agreeing to buy Credit Karma Tax last year.

“Block Inc.’s name change will deceive consumers and cause irreparable harm to Block,” H&R Block said in its complaint, filed Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri, federal court. “Consumers will mistakenly believe that Block is one of the ‘building blocks’ in the Block Inc. family of financial services companies.”

Square announced Dec. 1 it was rebranding as Block Inc. The company plans to extend its business beyond digital payments into music, cash transfers and the blockchain.

The case is H&R Block Inc. v. Block Inc., 21-cv-00913, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri (Kansas City).

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.