OpenAI has been enjoying a successful breakthrough in their Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) model. In order to protect their brand and product rights, the research organization is aiming to trademark their GPT and related terms such as “ChatGPT” and “GPT-4”. OpenAI made a trademark application for these terms to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in December 2022, followed by a second application for “GPT-4” in the following March. Additionally, OpenAI applied to the USPTO to expedite the process of their trademark application due to the surging number of GPT-related AI applications. However, the request was denied due to the inability of their lawyers to provide required evidence to support their claim.
OpenAI is a research organization founded in December 2015 by tech entrepreneurs including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever with the purpose of advancing AI in a way that is beneficial to humanity. OpenAI has generated many remarkable accomplishments in AI such as DALL-E which is an AI model that can generate images from text and the largest and most complex AI model in the world, GPT-3, which can create human-level writing. Although “ChatGPT” from OpenAI has yet to launch on the Chinese market, the company has attempted to register the trademark of its generative AI service in China in anticipation of the potential success.
Despite the impressive standing of OpenAI, it is hard to guarantee the success of the trademark application as there are numerous factors that can obstruct or delay the process. As a general rule for trademark registration, a distinctive name or term should be provided to distinguish it from describing the product or service itself. Since GPT is a term commonly used in machine learning and natural language processing, it is unlikely to be used as a trademark. OpenAI might be able to convert “GPT” into a recognizable brand name through their acclaimed reputation to differentiate it from being a descriptive term. However, if the trademark is accepted, there will be 30 days for other trademark owners to object to the trademark application and file an opposition.
OpenAI is a notable AI research organization aiming to advance the field of AI and promote collaboration and innovation with their AI models and tools. Founded by tech industry leaders, the company has gained a solid reputation and remarkable achievements in areas of natural language processing, reinforcement learning, computer vision, robotics, and more. From the success of DALL-E, GPT-3 and their attempts of acquiring the trademarks for GPT-related terms, OpenAI has proven to be a promising organization in the development of AI, and it is only just the beginning for them.
