OpenAl Dukes it Out with the USPTO over the CHATGPT Trademark
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ChatGPT is one of the most popular AI chatbots in the world. However, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is unimpressed. In 2022, ChatGPT’s supreme overlord owner, OpenAI, filed an application to register CHATGPT as a trademark for downloadable and online software. The USPTO rejects applications for registration on the Principal Register if they are […]
What’s Worse than Losing at the Olympics?
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We still have Olympic fever at Trust Tree. And the Olympics continue to provide useful trademark lessons. Indeed, I was yesterday years old when I learned that PING PONG is a registered trademark. Parker Brothers, Inc. registered the trademark in 1950 claiming use of the dating back to 1900. Realizing that PING PONG is a […]
CHATGPT Describes Being Refused as a Descriptive Trademark
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In February, OpenAI OpCo, LLC, received a final refusal of its trademark application for CHATGPT. The deadline for OpenAI to respond to the refusal is in August. Like any good law blogger, I gave CHATGPT the following prompt: “Write a blog post about the CHATGPT trademark being refused as merely descriptive and OpenAI’s effort to […]
Apple vs. APPLE – The Spectrum of Trademark Distinctiveness
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During a recent discussion with a non-lawyer about trademarks, I explained the so-called “spectrum of trademark distinctiveness” and used APPLE as an example of an arbitrary mark. The person responded, “Wait, you can trademark that?”. The question caught me off guard since I assumed everyone knew that APPLE was arguably the most valuable trademark in […]
As Generic as Apple Pie
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It’s Fourth of July Weekend! Or should I say, “Happy Birthday ‘Merica!” You probably already know you cannot register a generic term for a product or service. In other words, you cannot use a trademark registration to prevent others from using the term “apple pie” to refer to apple pie. But did you know that […]