ChatGPT creator OpenAI loses bid to block Singapore start-up’s GemGPT trademark

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has lost a bid to prevent a Singapore-based startup, Porolis Technologies, from registering the trademark "GemGPT". The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) ruled on October 28 that simply sharing the letters "GPT" was not enough to establish a case. Porolis, part of the B.P. de Silva group, can now proceed with registering the trademark, and OpenAI was awarded $10,000 in costs, including disbursements.

At the core of the dispute was whether people in Singapore would associate "GPT" with OpenAI's products and services or simply as a type of AI technology. Porolis applied for the trademark to protect its AI-powered gemstone authentication and related software services. The tribunal found that by May 22, 2023, when Porolis applied for the trademark, OpenAI had not established that "GPT" alone identified its business.

Porolis chose "Gem" to refer to gemstones and "GPT" to describe its use of generative AI models. The judge emphasized that both marks, when considered together, did not give the impression that GemGPT was associated with OpenAI's services. OpenAI had objected to the registration on the grounds of likelihood of confusion, harm to its well-known logos, and allegations of bad faith.

However, the judge found that ChatGPT and GemGPT should be considered as whole names rather than focusing on the shared letters. OpenAI also failed to prove that GemGPT would weaken ChatGPT's distinctiveness.