Sound Matters Too

The News: This dispute from back in April featured an interesting issue in determining similarities of brands. In IYO Inc. v. OpenAI, a federal judge questioned OpenAI during a preliminary injunction hearing regarding its acquisition and planned commercial use of the "IO" mark for AI-powered hardware devices. Audio startup IYO Inc. claimed the proposed mark infringes on its identical-sounding registered trademark.

The Source:https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/openais-io-move-is-red-flag-in-trademark-suit-judge-says

The Takeaway: Sound would not show up as a potential issue if you’re simply doing a search on USPTO for the spelling of a mark. When two marks sound the same and involve the selling of overlapping goods or services, the application mark is most likely doomed.

Trademark attorneys know to be on the lookout for that issue, which is only one of the reasons it’s a good idea to consult an attorney about your intellectual property needs.

You can book your federal trademark consultation with Equinomia Legal here.