This post includes the video statement and full transcript of Darius Lahoutifard’s explanation of the MEDDPICC trademark case background, the role of trademarks in protecting clients from confusion, and MEDDIC Academy’s contribution to the MEDDPICC ecosystem. (MEDDICC Ltd v. 01 Consulting LLC et al (Case 2:24-cv-01836, E.D. Pa.)
The MEDDPICC Lawsuit
Hello dear Academicians and partners of MEDDIC Academy.
I want to address an unusual subject.
I will keep it informative and educational.
• What is a trademark?
• Why did I trademark MEDDPICC®?
• How does it benefit clients, and why should they care?
• How did MEDDIC Academy contribute to the MEDDPICC ecosystem?
Over the past few years, there has been a legal dispute around the MEDDPICC trademark.
There are always two sides to every story.
I do not want to litigate this MEDDPICC Trademark case on social media.
But I do want to explain my side.
Because the matter was taken to social media after the interlocutory ruling, I felt I had no choice but to address it publicly.
so clients, partners, and members of the sales community can hear my side and make their own judgment.
So first, what is a trademark?
A trademark does not give anyone ownership of a methodology or an idea.
A methodology or an idea is not protectable.
People are free to practice it, discuss it, improve it, and teach it.
The purpose of a trademark is different.
What does a trademark protect?
Trademarks are primarily designed to protect consumers from being confused about the source of goods or services, in our case, our online courses.
It also protects a provider who uses a name or symbol in commerce to identify the source of a product or service; not the concept, the idea or the methodology, but the product or service.
It avoids confusion, protects trust, and helps define standards.
That is why there is a difference between discussing MEDDPICC as a methodology and selling a MEDDPICC course, app, or workshop.
Anyone can teach sales qualification.
Anyone can even teach MEDDPICC inside a course called “Sales Qualification.”
But naming your commercial offer the same as someone else’s existing online course creates client confusion.
Trademarking courses about a methodology is common.
Six Sigma is a methodology, but Six Sigma courses and certifications are protected by trademarks.
The same is true for SPIN Selling in sales, Kaizen in operations, ITIL in IT services, PRINCE2 in project management, and SAFe in Agile development.
Another key point: a trademark has a lifetime.
It needs to stay alive.
And for that, the owner not only has the right to enforce it, but the obligation.
Why did I trademark MEDDPICC?
My goal has never been to silence the community.
We offer licenses at a very low fee, but we examine certified trainers very seriously.
My goal has been to bring clarity and quality standards to the market.
Before MEDDIC Academy, MEDDIC and MEDDPICC existed mostly as tribal knowledge.
They were known in some circles, taught inside some companies, and interpreted differently by different people.
Even basic definitions were not always consistent.
For example, many people say the “I” in MEDDIC stands for “Identify Pain.”
But even some of the same people who now claim MEDDPICC is generic, in this MEDDPICC trademark case, have a different definition.
That is why codification matters.
I have never claimed that I coined MEDDIC or MEDDPICC.
No single person did.
Even John McMahon himself said in a September 2023 podcast with Daniel Wikberg from Upsales:
“The genesis of MEDDIC didn’t happen when a couple of guys just sat in a room and came up with it. It was an iterative, organic process.”
My contribution was different.
How did MEDDIC Academy contribute to the MEDDPICC ecosystem?
I helped codify it and structure it.
I published it and made it consumable, teachable, accessible, and scalable.
In 2013, I created the first public educational MEDDIC/MEDDPICC slide deck.
I posted it free of charge on SlideShare.
I am not aware of any MEDDIC or MEDDPICC slide deck publicly available before that date.
In 2017, I founded MEDDIC Academy.
I launched the first Full MEDDIC and then MEDDPICC online courses, with videos, slides, documents, tools, and tests.
I am not aware of any MEDDIC or MEDDPICC online course or certification available before that date.
I didn’t do that secretly.
In 2017, before filing any trademark, I reached out to Jack Napoli, John McMahon, and Force Management.
I offered them to join me in building and launching the Academy.
Jack Napoli was supportive, and we co-delivered trainings with his company.
With Force Management, we had months of discussions, but things moved slowly, and I launched alone.
Why client confusion matters
Those who believe MEDDIC is for everyone and it’s open source, then they should love the person who helped make it a global success, right?
Later in 2020, I published Always Be Qualifying, the first book dedicated to MEDDIC and MEDDPICC.
Again, I am not aware of any book teaching MEDDIC or MEDDPICC before June 2020.
Since then, MEDDIC Academy has trained professionals and companies in 132 countries.
We also shaped the Google Trends graph.
That work helped bring MEDDPICC from scattered tribal knowledge into a global education ecosystem.
When you build something like that, protecting the name means caring for clients.
They deserve to identify the product — here, the courses — without confusion.
It is not about ego.
It is not about stopping others.
It is about protecting customers from confusion and making sure they know whether a course, certification, app, or product is connected to MEDDIC Academy.
In this case, after years of investment by MEDDIC Academy, a UK company entered the market.
It was founded by someone who had not been at PTC.
In my view, he named his company very similarly and created courses with similar titles.
So yes, I reacted.
As trademark owner, it was not just my right.
I had the obligation to react.
If a trademark owner knowingly allows unauthorized use, the mark weakens over time.
Many other companies took a license at a very reasonable rate, and we cooperated with them.
But this company took a different route.
They registered MEDDIC, MEDDICC, and MEDDPICC-related trademarks in the UK and Europe.
They enforced them against third parties.
And now, some of the same people argue these words are generic.
If their goal was truly to make the terms accessible to all, would they have filed for exclusive use in other jurisdictions?
Despite all that, we are not the party who sued.
They came from the other side of the pond into the U.S. market, challenged us, and filed claims against us in a U.S. court.
The ongoing legal process
So yes, the interlocutory ruling is not what we expected.
We take note of it and will act according to our legal options.
But a court ruling is part of a legal process.
It does not mean every third-party use is automatically fair, honest, or non-confusing.
MEDDPICC also remains protected in other jurisdictions, including through registration with the French INPI.
Regardless of any legal framing, MEDDIC Academy played an undeniable role in bringing MEDDPICC from tribal knowledge into the global sales education market.
We will continue to build, innovate, and serve.
The legal process is still ongoing, and we will respect it.
I believe justice will prevail in the end.
And when it does not, it is not the end.
#MEDDPICC #MEDDPICCLawsuit #MEDDIC #Trademark #MEDDICAcademy