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AI The Courts

Can OpenAI Trademark 'GPT'? (techcrunch.com) 34

Posted by EditorDavid from the (G)enerative-(P)re-trained-(T)ransformer dept.
"ThreatGPT, MedicalGPT, DateGPT and DirtyGPT are a mere sampling of the many outfits to apply for trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in recent months," notes TechCrunch, exploring the issue of whether OpenAI can actually trademark the phrase 'GPT'... Little wonder that after applying in late December for a trademark for "GPT," which stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer," OpenAI last month petitioned the USPTO to speed up the process, citing the "myriad infringements and counterfeit apps" beginning to spring into existence. Unfortunately for OpenAI, its petition was dismissed last week... Given the rest of the queue in which OpenAI finds itself, that means a decision could take up to five more months, says Jefferson Scher, a partner in the intellectual property group of Carr & Ferrell and chair of the firm's trademark practice group. Even then, the outcome isn't assured, Scher explains... [H]elpful, says Scher, is the fact that OpenAI has been using "GPT" for years, having released its original Generative Pre-trained Transformer model, or GPT-1, back in October 2018...

Even if a USPTO examiner has no problem with OpenAI's application, it will be moved afterward to a so-called opposition period, where other market participants can argue why the agency should deny the "GPT" trademark. Scher describes what would follow this way: In the case of OpenAI, an opposer would challenge Open AI's position that "GPT" is proprietary and that the public perceives it as such instead of perceiving the acronym to pertain to generative AI more broadly...

It all begs the question of why the company didn't move to protect "GPT" sooner. Here, Scher speculates that the company was "probably caught off guard" by its own success... Another wrinkle here is that OpenAI may soon be so famous that its renown becomes a dominant factor, says Scher. While one doesn't need to be famous to secure a trademark, once an outfit is widely enough recognized, it receives protection that extends far beyond its sphere. Rolex is too famous a trademark to be used on anything else, for instance.
Thanks to Slashdot reader rolodexter for sharing the article.
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Can OpenAI Trademark 'GPT'? More

Can OpenAI Trademark 'GPT'?

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  • It begs nothing at all (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Saturday April 29, 2023 @10:23PM (#63486244)

    It all begs the question of why

    No it doesn't [wikipedia.org]

    .

    • Your own link disagrees with you:

      The phrase "begs the question" is also commonly used to mean "prompts a question" or "raises a question".

  • At least some of their shit will remain open.

    • I still don't understand what AI has to do with GPT. Which by the way was a much needed replacement for MBR, despite what the EFI haters say, particularly given we no longer need a 16-bit bootstrap intended for 8086 CPUs.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by _merlin ( 160982 )

        Are EFI haters still a thing? I thought they disappeared as electronic fuel injection systems became more reliable. No-one wants to waste time adjusting their carby.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by raynet ( 51803 )

      What do you mean? All their shit is protected with copyright, the trademark only protects the name.

  • No they can't, but if enough useless scoundrels try to get in on the game it will hopefully clue everyone in on how limited the technology is and how little they should actually worry. This is probably the beginning of the next industrial revolution. There may be some people who insist on doing their jobs entirely by hand who become obsolete, but productivity will rise and more workers will be employed as a result. I doubt many of us will live to see the results, but this will be the next great leveler.

    • productivity will rise and more workers will be employed as a result. I doubt many of us will live to see the results

      That's right: what the current generations will see is mass unemployment. The rise in productivity and employment is for the next generation.

  • I was talking with a chatbot, and it told me it was a Nexus 7. Then it said 'time to die, blade runner'. I'm not sure what it was talking about.

  • Coin a new word, or call it something that describes it better.
    GPT could be butter, or a trampoline, for all anyone knows.
    And not one of those dictionary words with a letter or two missing.
    Buncha' lazy nerds.

  • They're attempting to trademark a name of a computational method? Now that's sinking to new lows.

    • Re: Seriesrly? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by BlueKitties ( 1541613 )

      I disagree. I never once heard GPT used to name any AI technology before "ChatGPT." I've heard AI used, like "OpenAI." But GPT? No, "CatGPT" is pretty clearly trying to tie itself to ChatGPT in particular. That does make it trade-markable. Point: can you in all sincerity, not trying to win an Internet debate, say that "ChatGPT" isn't the reason everyone wants to use "GPT" in their product names in particular? I mean isn't it peculiar a bunch of people who never met selected such particular names for their

  • Generative Toilet Paper.

    I use that to clean my Relox watch.

  • Generalized Probabilistic Theory... (Score:4, Informative)

    by VeryFluffyBunny ( 5037285 ) on Sunday April 30, 2023 @05:53AM (#63486530)

    Me: How many instances of the acronym GPT are there? Give examples

    ChatGPT: There are several instances of the acronym GPT, but the most well-known and widely used one is "Generative Pre-trained Transformer," which refers to a type of neural network architecture used for natural language processing tasks. However, there are other instances of the acronym GPT that can have different meanings depending on the context. Here are some examples:

    • GPT: "Get Paid Today," which is often used in the context of payday loans or other financial services.
    • GPT: "Glue Pad Technology," which refers to a type of adhesive technology used to make sticky notes and other products.
    • GPT: "Global Price Tag," which is a term used in international trade to refer to the price of a product in different markets around the world.
    • GPT: "Group Policy Template," which refers to a set of settings and configurations used to manage network resources in a Windows environment.

    Me: Give more examples.

    ChatGPT: Sure, here are some additional examples of the acronym GPT in various contexts:

    • GPT: "Gas Phase Titration," which is a method used in analytical chemistry to determine the amount of a particular substance in a gas mixture.
    • GPT: "Global Production Team," which refers to a group of people within a multinational corporation who are responsible for coordinating and managing production activities across multiple locations and countries.
    • GPT: "Global Payroll Tax," which refers to the taxes that must be paid by a company or organization with employees in multiple countries.
    • GPT: "Graduated Payment Term," which is a type of loan repayment plan where the borrower starts with lower monthly payments that gradually increase over time.
    • GPT: "General Purpose Technology," which refers to a technology that has broad applicability and can be used across a wide range of industries and sectors.
    • GPT: "Global Policy Tracker," which is a tool used to monitor and analyze policy developments around the world.
    • GPT: "Great Plains Technology Center," which is a vocational school in Oklahoma that offers training programs in various technical fields.

    Me: More!

    ChatGPT: Sure, here are some more examples of the acronym GPT in various contexts:

    • GPT: "Global Power Technologies," which is a company that provides engineering services and solutions for the energy sector.
    • GPT: "Gas Phase Thermolysis," which is a chemical process used to break down complex molecules into simpler ones using heat and gas.
    • GPT: "Global Public Transport," which refers to the systems and infrastructure used to provide transportation services to the general public, such as buses, trains, and subways.
    • GPT: "Generic Product Template," which is a standardized format used to create and manage product information across different platforms and channels.
    • GPT: "General Purpose Test," which is a type of test used to evaluate the performance of a device or system under a variety of conditions.
    • GPT: "Global Powertrain Technology," which refers to the systems and components that provide power to a vehicle, such as engines, transmissions, and drivetrains.
    • GPT: "Guided Parental Training," which is a type of behavioral therapy used to help parents develop skills and strategies for managing children's behavior.
  • Has anyone come up with TrollGPT yet? Can I trademark that one? Better still, can I patent the concept of an LLM that's been trained to troll users on the interwebs pipes?

  • "...the company was "probably caught off guard" by its own success... "

    It could be that as it was genuinely a non profit, this was a non priority...until it somehow morphed into a for-profit company worth $tens of billions.

    Whoopsies, how did that happen?

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