Judge of the U.S. District Court in California, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, has ordered Open Artificial Intelligence, Inc. to withdraw from using “Open AI” in their business affairs. The judge said, “Open Artificial Intelligence Inc’s branding was likely to confuse consumers and violate OpenAI’s rights.”
OpenAI sued Open Artificial Intelligence and Ravine in August, and alleged that they applied to register an “Open AI” trademark the day after OpenAI announced its founding in 2015 to “sow consumer confusion.”
Judge Rogers stated that OpenAI‘s trademark has quickly become universal and associated with some of the most widely used AI tools. In contrast, Open Artificial Intelligence’s trademark is linked only to an inoperable website, just before the lawsuit.Â
The judge pointed to evidence that media outlets and users of Ravine’s open.ai website, which currently hosts an AI image generator, have already demonstrated confusion between his company and OpenAI.
Open Artificial Intelligence attorneys have stated that the company disagrees with the ruling and plans to evaluate its legal options. The company’s founder, Guy Ravine, contends that Open Artificial Intelligence has operated under the Open AI name since April 2015, eight months before OpenAI existed.
The trademark feud started when Ravine declined OpenAI’s bids to buy the open.ai domain in 2015 and 2022. He asked for millions from CEO Sam Altman, mentioning Elon Musk’s $11 million purchase of the Tesla trademark. OpenAI hasn’t reacted to the trademark ruling, which bans Open Artificial Intelligence from using “Open AI” until the lawsuit ends.
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