ChatGPT creator OpenAI loses bid to block Singapore startup’s GemGPT trademark

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, was unsuccessful in its attempt to prevent Singapore startup Porolis Technologies from registering the trademark "GemGPT". The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) ruled on October 28 that merely sharing the letters "GPT" was not enough to establish a case against Porolis. Porolis, a company that uses AI to assess gemstones, was granted the trademark along with S$10,000 in costs.

The dispute centered on whether the term "GPT" would be associated with OpenAI's products and services or simply viewed as a type of AI technology. Porolis applied for the trademark for its AI-powered gemstone authentication and related software services, using the term "Gem" to refer to gemstones and "GPT" to describe its use of generative AI models.

The IPOS found that at the time of the application in May 2023, less than six months after ChatGPT's launch, OpenAI had not established that the three letters alone identified its business. The decision emphasized that the overall impression of the name "GemGPT" was that it referred to an unrelated AI or technology product or service for gemstones, and not directly to OpenAI's products or services.