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Paytm-Unicommerce legal tussle over alleged data misuse takes new turn

By Arti Singh

  • 11 Oct 2017
Paytm-Unicommerce legal tussle over alleged data misuse takes new turn
Credit: Ankit Kumar/VCCircle

Unicommerce eSolutions Pvt. Ltd, the technology solutions arm of online retailer Snapdeal, said on Wednesday that Paytm has withdrawn a case that the digital payments firm had filed against it in April 2016 alleging data misuse.

Paytm, operated by Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led One97 Communications Ltd, had filed a lawsuit against Unicommerce in the Delhi High Court, accusing it of accessing confidential business data on Paytm’s commerce platform via the sellers on the platform.

Unicommerce is used by many sellers on Paytm’s platform to manage orders and inventory across multiple marketplaces and carts.

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Paytm had also alleged that Unicommerce was using Paytm’s logo and name without any authorisation.

Unicommerce now claims that Paytm has withdrawn the case against it. “The withdrawal follows Paytm’s inability to provide any proof in support of the allegations,” the Snapdeal unit said in a statement.

However, a Paytm spokesperson told VCCircle: “Paytm is no more in the business of ecommerce and that is why it has withdrawn the case. That said, Paytm Mall will review the next step and will take appropriate action accordingly.”

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Last year, One97 Communications had separated its e-commerce and digital payments businesses under Paytm ECommerce Pvt. Ltd and Paytm Payments Bank Ltd, respectively. Paytm Ecommerce, which operates Paytm Mall, is majority owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Holdings.

Both Snapdeal and One97 are backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, which also owns a stake in Alibaba.

Unicommerce also said that, in April 2016, the Delhi High Court, instead of granting the interim relief sought by Paytm, had agreed with the facts presented by the Snapdeal unit, which established that the seller data was accessed with the consent of the sellers.

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Archana Sahadeva, associate partner at Singh & Singh Law Firm, who handled the case on behalf of Unicommerce, said: “The case against Unicommerce has been withdrawn unconditionally by Paytm. As such, neither the allegation made against Unicommerce, nor the interim order passed in the matter survives."

Unicommerce CEO Kapil Makhija said that the company handles sellers’ data with the highest levels of security. “Our platform is used to process more than 100 million orders annually and our unwavering focus is on helping the sellers improve their online business by providing them the best tools for order processing and inventory management.”

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