In a recent development, OpenAI’s bid to trademark the term ‘GPT’ has hit a roadblock, with the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) rejecting their application.
The acronym, which stands for GenerativePpre-trained Transformer, has become synonymous with advanced language models in the field of artificial intelligence.
OpenAI argued that ‘GPT’ serves as a distinctive identifier rather than a generic descriptor.
However, the PTO disagreed, emphasizing the term’s broad applicability and potential to hinder competitors from accurately labeling their own products.
This decision carries significant implications for the industry, as ‘GPT’ has been widely adopted by various companies, including GPTZero, an AI detector startup.
Despite its association with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and subsequent models, such as GPT-3 and GPT-4, the PTO’s ruling reflects a broader challenge in trademarking ubiquitous terms in the AI landscape.
This is not the first setback for OpenAI in their trademark endeavors; a similar denial occurred in May 2023.
While the company retains the option to appeal, the outcome remains uncertain, underscoring the complexities of intellectual property protection in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.