Ninth Circuit Court Verdict: A Clear Ban on ‘io’ Branding for OpenAI

OpenAI and Jony Ive’s joint venture will remain without a name for now, after a US court upheld a temporary restraining order preventing the use of the name “io.” This decision follows a trademark complaint filed by iyO, an AI startup that originated from Google’s Moonshot Factory. The court agreed that the names “io” and “iyO” sound similar and that both companies operate in similar product categories, which could lead to consumer confusion.

According to court documents issued on December 4, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with the earlier ruling restricting OpenAI, its founders, and partner companies from using the “io” brand in hardware or promotional materials. iyO argued that even without selling hardware yet, OpenAI’s high-profile launch announcements had already caused “reverse confusion,” where a larger brand overshadows a smaller, more established one. The court agreed, stating that promotional videos and marketing content are enough to trigger trademark law, even without actual product sales.

As a result, OpenAI and its partners are prohibited from using the “io” name for any AI-powered voice interface hardware, which is the same field iyO operates in. They must avoid branding or marketing that could violate the injunction, and the earlier promotional pages and videos have already been taken down. The restriction applies only to this specific hardware category; using “io” in unrelated areas is not blocked by the court order.