Xai Elona Muska is in the face of a potential dispute over the trademark for the name of his chatbot, grok. The company’s application with the Patent Office and trademarks in the USA was suspended after the agency argued that the name could be confused with two other companies, AI Chipmaker Groq and the GROKSTream software suppliers. Now the third technological startup called Bizly claims that it is the owner of the rights to “grok”.
This is not the first time Musk chose the name of one of its products that other companies say that they were first on the goods. Last month, the Muska Social Media Platform resolved a lawsuit brought by a marketing company, which claimed that she had exclusive rights to the name X.
It seems that Bizly and Xai came to the name GROK independently. Strangely, the founder of Ron Shah says that he came up with it during a brainstorming session with a friend who used this word as a verb. (The expression “to grok” is often used in technical circles as “understanding”.) “I was as the name is,” says Shah Wired. “We were excited, high fields, it was a name!”
Musk he said He called his chatbot after the term used in the science fiction novel from 1961 Strangers in a strange land, According to the Times of India. Author Robert A. Heinlein imagined “grok” as a word in the Martian lexicon, which also meant “understanding.”
Shah says that he submitted a trademark called GROK in 2021. Two years later he was in the process of launching a live application called GROK called GROK when Musk announced his chatbot of the same name. “It was a day that I will never forget,” says Shah. “I woke up and looked at my phone, and there were so many news from friends who say:” Have you been acquired by Elon? Congratulations! “It was a total shock for me.”
Shah insists that Xai violates his trademark. However, according to US law, the regulations regarding trademarks are primarily aimed at protecting consumers, not companies, says Josh Gerben, founder of Gerben IP, a law firm focused only on trademarks. “The goal is not to stir up who is behind the product or service,” he says.
For example, former Musk Gimes partner Also a trademark The name groc for a plush toy for children, but this application is very different from the software tool, reducing the likelihood that consumers have mixed. “Details matter,” says Gerben. “What is the original grok doing and what does this new do? Do they work in the same trade channel?”
In the case of Bizly, answers to these questions are quite gloomy. One of the trademark registration requirements is that the owners must show that it is used for the sale of goods or services in at least two states. Postto also allows people to submit a trademark to reserve the rights to the name before starting the company, but they cannot register it until their jewelry website is fully launched or their Pizza Parlor network will expand in neighboring condition.