A federal judge in California has ruled that OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, holds the rights to its name and can prevent a smaller tech firm from using a similar one.
In a decision issued July 21, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found that OpenAI’s trademark was valid and had been violated by a competing business called Open Artificial Intelligence Inc., created by entrepreneur Guy Ravine. The court determined that Ravine misled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and attempted to benefit from OpenAI’s growing name recognition by offering products under a closely matching brand.
As a result of the ruling, Ravine’s company is permanently prohibited from using “Open AI” or any related variation in its marketing, websites, or products. The court also canceled Ravine’s registered trademark and ordered that related online services be taken offline.
Both companies are based in San Francisco and operate in the artificial intelligence sector. Ravine registered the domain open.ai in early 2015, before OpenAI formally launched later that year. However, the judge found that Ravine did not begin offering commercial products until after OpenAI had already released tools such as ChatGPT and DALL·E 2.
According to the order, Ravine provided inaccurate information to federal authorities when applying for trademark protection. The judge concluded that he did so knowingly, intending to mislead the government. Even if Ravine had limited early use of the name, the court found his later decision to release similar technology caused confusion and infringed on OpenAI’s rights.
The court also noted that by late 2022, OpenAI had established strong public recognition through media coverage and a large user base. Evidence showed that customers had difficulty distinguishing between the two companies.
OpenAI filed the lawsuit in 2023, arguing that its competitor was creating confusion and attempting to use the name to gain attention. The court agreed and ordered a permanent injunction to stop further use.
An attorney for Ravine said they disagree with the decision and plan to appeal.
OpenAI is facing a product liability lawsuit in California from a Florida man who claims ChatGPT provided individualized medical guidance that led him to delay professional care before a serious health emergency.Scott Winters, a 55-year-old former pastor, sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco County Superior Court. The... Read More »
A federal judge in San Francisco has granted final approval to Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement with authors and publishers whose copyrighted books were downloaded from pirate libraries as the artificial intelligence company built the systems behind its Claude chatbot.U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved the agreement Monday, resolving class claims... Read More »
A federal judge has refused to stop Meta Platforms from laying off 26 workers who claim the company used AI-assisted systems that unfairly penalized employees with disabilities or those who took protected leave.U.S. District Judge William Orrick denied the workers’ request for a temporary restraining order Friday in Oakland, California.... Read More »
Apple has sued OpenAI and two former employees, accusing the artificial intelligence company of using stolen trade secrets to speed the development of its first consumer hardware product.The lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims OpenAI encouraged Apple workers it was recruiting... Read More »
A federal judge in California dismissed Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI on Monday after a jury found he waited too long to pursue claims accusing the company of departing from its founding nonprofit mission. The ruling followed a three-week trial in Oakland focused on OpenAI’s corporate structure, its partnership with... Read More »
