OpenAI Loses Appeal Before EU Court: The 'OPENAI' Trademark Remains Unregistrable

OpenAI has suffered a setback in the legal dispute regarding the registration of its trademark in the European Union. The EU Court, based in Luxembourg, has indeed rejected the appeal filed by the American company, confirming the previous decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The controversy concerns the application for the registration of the trademark "OPENAI" for a range of products and services related to software and computing. According to European judges, with reference to certain specific categories, the name possesses a descriptive character and therefore does not meet the distinctiveness requirement mandated by European trademark law. In particular, the Court shared the EUIPO's interpretation that the term "open" is commonly perceived as synonymous with accessible or freely available.

Associated with the acronym "AI", which identifies artificial intelligence, the name would thus be interpreted by the public as a reference to products and services based on open or easily accessible artificial intelligence. The EUIPO had therefore partially rejected the registration application submitted by OpenAI, limited to certain categories, including software and cloud computing services.

OpenAI's Appeal and EU Clarifications

In its appeal, the company argued that the term "open" can take on different meanings and that "OPENAI" represents an original expression, devoid of a precise and unambiguous meaning. Furthermore, OpenAI pointed to the existence of similar registrations already approved by the EUIPO and the fact that the trademark is registered in over thirty countries, including the United Kingdom and Singapore.

However, the Court did not accept these arguments. The ruling highlights that the combination of the two words does not constitute an unusual linguistic combination in the English language and that, for this reason, it retains an immediately comprehensible meaning for the target audience.

The judges also clarified that registrations obtained in other jurisdictions have no binding effects under European trademark legislation, as each legal system follows autonomous assessment criteria. The decision therefore represents a confirmation of the partial refusal issued by the EUIPO.