OpenAI loses trademark dispute at EU court
The EU General Court has rejected OpenAI's attempt to trademark the name 'OPENAI', ruling that the term is purely descriptive for software and IT services. The court concluded that the public interprets the name as referring to openly accessible artificial intelligence.
Why it matters
This ruling limits OpenAI's ability to protect its brand identity in the European market and sets a precedent for how descriptive AI-related terms are treated under EU trademark law.
US dpacountry:184 Europe dpageosbj:44 updateme dpauserneed:updateme OpenAI loses trademark dispute at EU court 15.07.2026, 14:24 Uhr
OpenAI, the US company behind ChatGPT, has lost its legal challenge against the refusal to register the trademark "OPENAI" at the European Union's General Court.
The Luxembourg-based court ruled that, for certain software and information technology goods and services, the term is purely descriptive and therefore lacks the distinctiveness required for trademark protection. The ruling can still be appealed to the European Court of Justice.
The court's judgment upheld a decision by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The office had partially rejected OpenAI's application for trademark registration, for example in relation to software and cloud computing services.
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