AI Caramba! Another Day, Another Preliminary Trademark Injunction Issued

On February 28, 2024, in Open AI, Inc., v Open Artificial Intelligence, Inc., and Guy Ravine No. 4:23-cv-3918-YGR , the US District Court for the Northern District of California (the Court) granted OpenAI Inc’s (OpenAI) motion for a preliminary injunction against Guy Ravine and his company Open Artificial Intelligence Inc. (collectively, Open Artificial Intelligence) prohibiting its use of the mark “Open AI. ”

The plaintiff, OpenAI, the founder of ChatGPT among other artificial intelligence tools and services, brought a motion for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the defendant, Open Artificial Intelligence, a company that owns a website that offers user created online articles relating to artificial intelligence, from using the trademark “Open AI”. The two parties have virtually identical marks: the plaintiff’s trademark is “OpenAI” (no space) versus the defendant’s “Open AI” (with a space). The parties contest who is the senior user.

The Court found that OpenAI is likely to demonstrate that it has the senior right to the disputed mark. The Court found that OpenAI presented credible evidence establishing that Open Artificial Intelligence had not used their mark in commerce, if at all, until recently. The Court found that OpenAI was likely to prove that its users associated its trademark with its products, and that its trademark had been extensively used since 2015 and has recently become of the most recognized in the artificial intelligence industry, if not the world. Further, the Court noted that there was evidence that the overlap between the marks had misled consumers.

As a result, the Court concluded that OpenAI was likely to succeed on the merits of its trademark infringement claim and would be irreparably harmed without a preliminary injunction.

The Court granted OpenAI’s motion for a preliminary injunction, restraining Open Artificial Intelligence from using the “Open AI” trademark.

Summary By: Victoria Di Felice