EU General Court Upholds Refusal of OpenAI Word Mark

The General Court of the European Union has dismissed OpenAI Inc.'s appeal against the partial refusal to register the word mark OPENAI as an EU trademark.

In its July 15, 2026 judgment in Case T-555/25, the court upheld the EUIPO Board of Appeal decision that the mark is descriptive under Article 7(1)(c) of the EU Trade Mark Regulation and therefore devoid of distinctive character under Article 7(1)(b) for goods and services in classes 9, 42, and 45, including software and cloud computing.

The court found that the relevant English-speaking public would perceive OPENAI as indicating openly accessible artificial intelligence. It rejected arguments that the combination created a fanciful term or that prior similar registrations by the office required a different outcome.

The ruling leaves open OpenAI's subsidiary claim for acquired distinctiveness through use under Article 7(3), which the Board of Appeal may examine once the decision is final. OpenAI may also appeal to the Court of Justice of the EU.

Sources: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/openai-fails-to-trademark-name-in-eu/articleshow/132422192.cms https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:62025TJ0555