OpenAI Can't Register GPT As A Trademark. Here’s Why

In a recent ruling, the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has rejected OpenAI's request to trademark the term "GPT," an abbreviation for generative pre-trained transformer.

The PTO considered the term too generic for exclusive registration, expressing concerns that granting the trademark could impede competitors from accurately depicting their products as employing similar technology.

OpenAI challenged the ruling, contending that the term "GPT" lacks a purely descriptive nature, and consumers might not immediately grasp its meaning.

Despite this, the PTO stood firm, maintaining that in the technology domain, those acquainted with the field recognise "GPT" as representing a general category of software rather than a specific product from OpenAI.

OpenAI has encountered rejection before in its efforts to trademark "GPT," with a similar denial in May 2023. There remains an option for OpenAI to appeal this recent decision to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, seeking potential approval for the trademark in the future.