OpenAI’s “GPT” Trademark Application Rejected by USPTO

April 10, 2024

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The US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has rejected OpenAI’s application to trademark “GPT”, which stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, saying the term was “merely descriptive”.

In the application, OpenAI argued the mark is not generic because consumers do not immediately understand what the underlying wording “generative pre-trained transformer” means.

However, the USPTO refused the registration of “GPT” on the basis that the acronym describes a feature, function, or characteristic of OpenAI’s goods and services. The USPTO further noted that “GPT” is a generic mark that is widely used throughout the artificial intelligence industry.

The latest decision from the USPTO marks the second time that an OpenAI trademark application has been rejected, as it previously attempted to register a trademark for “GPT” in December, 2022.

OpenAI has the option to appeal the decision to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

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Authors: PJ Conlon and Arash Rouhi