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Euronews
24-06-2025
- Business
- Euronews
OpenAI pauses Jony Ive partnership marketing in trademark dispute
A US federal judge asked OpenAI to stop marketing its upcoming partnership with an iPhone designer due to a trademark dispute. OpenAI last month announced it was buying io Products, a product and engineering company co-founded by Jony Ive, the former senior vice president of industrial design and chief design officer at Apple,** in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion (€5.6 billion). A competing firm called IYO that pitched an AI hardware to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's personal firm and Ive's design firm launched a trademark complaint against the deal. US District Judge Trina Thompson ruled late Friday that IYO, a Google-backed hardware start-up,** has a strong enough trademark infringement case to proceed to a hearing in October. Until then, she ordered Altman, Ive and OpenAI to refrain from 'using the IYO mark, and any mark confusingly similar thereto, including the IO mark in connection with the marketing or sale of related products.' 'IYO will not roll over' OpenAI responded by scrubbing its website of mentions of the new venture, saying instead that the page 'is temporarily down due to a court order. 'We don't agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options," the company added. IYO CEO Jason Rugolo applauded the ruling Monday in a written statement to the Associated Press that said the start-up will aggressively protect its brand and tech investments. 'IYO will not roll over and let [Altman] and [Ive] trample on our rights, no matter how rich and famous they are,' Rugolo said. Altman said in a June 12 court filing that he and Ive decided on the io name for their collaboration "because it is a common phrase for 'input/output'" and that their intent with the collaboration "was, and is, to create products that go beyond traditional products and interfaces". He added that they received the domain name in August 2023. 'Raising the issue of our name in bad faith' A file sent to the court from the OpenAI team alleges that Rugolo approached OpenAI several times for either funding, propositions to sell the company for $200 million or to ask for ways the companies could work together. After io was launched on May 21, the court filing says Rugolo contacted OpenAI's Tang Tan, io's chief hardware officer, congratulating them on the launch. When Tan said he did not want to pursue a partnership, Rugolo then raised an issue with the name for the first time. "I was surprised to receive this email," Tan wrote in a case declaration. "Mr. Rugolo had never mentioned any issues with the io name in any of our prior communications over the past several weeks. "It appeared to me that Mr. Rugolo was raising the issue of our name in bad faith to try to force us to do a deal with his company," he said. What are Altman and Ive building? In a filing to the court, Altman and Ive's lawyers say that their io project is not working on an in-ear or wearable AI device like IYO is. "io is at least a year away from offering any goods or services, and the first product it intends to offer is not an in-ear device like the one Plaintiff is offering for 'presale' (but which is also still at least months away from its claimed release date)," the filing says. Altman previously told OpenAI employees that the io prototype would be able to fit in a pocket or sit on a desk. The device would eventually be a third one that users could have in addition to their smartphone and laptop. The court filing from OpenAI also says io developed several prototypes, like objects that were "desktop-based and mobile, wireless and wired, wearable and portable". As part of this effort, io bought a "wide range" of earbuds, hearing aids and "at least 30" different headphone sets from companies, including IYO. The order for IYO's One earbuds asked for a downpayment of $69 and would be shipped in the winter of 2024, but was never fulfilled by the company, the case added.

The Hindu
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
OpenAI scrubs mention of Jony Ive partnership after judge's ruling over trademark dispute
A budding partnership between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and legendary iPhone designer Jony Ive to develop a new artificial intelligence hardware product has hit a legal snag after a federal judge ruled they must temporarily stop marketing the new venture. OpenAI last month announced it was buying io Products, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion. But it quickly faced a trademark complaint from a startup with a similarly sounding name, IYO, which is also developing AI hardware that it had pitched to Altman's personal investment firm and Ive's design firm in 2022. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson ruled late Friday that IYO has a strong enough trademark infringement case to proceed to a hearing in October. Until then, she ordered Altman, Ive and OpenAI to refrain from 'using the IYO mark, and any mark confusingly similar thereto, including the IO mark in connection with the marketing or sale of related products.' OpenAI responded by scrubbing its website of mentions of the new venture, including a web page of the May 21 announcement. In its place, the company had a message Monday that said the page 'is temporarily down due to a court order' and added: "We don't agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.' IYO CEO Jason Rugolo applauded the ruling Monday in a written statement that said the startup will aggressively protect its brand and tech investments. "IYO will not roll over and let Sam and Jony trample on our rights, no matter how rich and famous they are,' Rugolo said.


Time of India
24-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
OpenAI scrubs mention of Jony Ive partnership after judge's ruling over trademark dispute
A budding partnership between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and legendary iPhone designer Jony Ive to develop a new artificial intelligence hardware product has hit a legal snag after a federal judge ruled they must temporarily stop marketing the new venture. OpenAI last month announced it was buying io Products, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion. But it quickly faced a trademark complaint from a startup with a similarly sounding name, IYO , which is also developing AI hardware that it had pitched to Altman's personal investment firm and Ive's design firm in 2022. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson ruled late Friday that IYO has a strong enough trademark infringement case to proceed to a hearing in October. Until then, she ordered Altman, Ive and OpenAI to refrain from "using the IYO mark, and any mark confusingly similar thereto, including the IO mark in connection with the marketing or sale of related products." OpenAI responded by scrubbing its website of mentions of the new venture, including a web page of the May 21 announcement. Live Events In its place, the company had a message Monday that said the page "is temporarily down due to a court order" and added: "We don't agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options." Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories IYO CEO Jason Rugolo applauded the ruling Monday in a written statement that said the startup will aggressively protect its brand and tech investments. "IYO will not roll over and let Sam and Jony trample on our rights, no matter how rich and famous they are," Rugolo said.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OpenAI scrubs mention of Jony Ive partnership after judge's ruling over trademark dispute
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A budding partnership between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and legendary iPhone designer Jony Ive to develop a new artificial intelligence hardware product has hit a legal snag after a federal judge ruled they must temporarily stop marketing the new venture. OpenAI last month announced it was buying io Products, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion. But it quickly faced a trademark complaint from a startup with a similarly sounding name, IYO, which is also developing AI hardware that it had pitched to Altman's personal investment firm and Ive's design firm in 2022. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson ruled late Friday that IYO has a strong enough trademark infringement case to proceed to a hearing in October. Until then, she ordered Altman, Ive and OpenAI to refrain from 'using the IYO mark, and any mark confusingly similar thereto, including the IO mark in connection with the marketing or sale of related products.' OpenAI responded by scrubbing its website of mentions of the new venture, including a web page of the May 21 announcement. In its place, the company had a message Monday that said the page 'is temporarily down due to a court order' and added: "We don't agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.' IYO CEO Jason Rugolo applauded the ruling Monday in a written statement that said the startup will aggressively protect its brand and tech investments. "IYO will not roll over and let Sam and Jony trample on our rights, no matter how rich and famous they are,' Rugolo said. —— The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI access to part of AP's text archives.


Time of India
23-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Elon Musk's emoji reaction on OpenAI removing Jony Ive's startup name amid trademark dispute
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reacted to the legal drama surrounding OpenAI. The world richest man reacted with a skeptical "🤨" emoji on social media platform X (earlier Twitter) to a post that mentioned the development. This comes after OpenAI removed all references to "io," the hardware startup co-founded by Jony Ive , from its website and social media. This move follows a trademark dispute with "iyO," an existing smart earbud company. The Sam Altman-led AI startup that announced a $6.5 billion deal to acquire Ive's startup said that the removal was due to a "court order" but disagreed with the complaint. Musk's emoji reaction came on X (formerly Twitter) to a post detailing the lawsuit, which alleged that OpenAI had previously heard iyO's pitch before proceeding to allegedly copy the concept with Jony Ive and then acquire his company, naming it "io." In the post, the user wrote: "Google X spin out IYO, which makes smart ear buds from 2018, alleges Sam Altman / OpenAI heard their pitch, passed, got Jony Ive to try it before copying it, buying his co for $6.5B and calling it IO." The "🤨" emoji shared by Musk is commonly used to express skepticism, disbelief, or suspicion. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Here's A List Of Cheapest Steel Suppliers (See The List) Steel Suppliers | search ads Search Now Undo All references of Jony Ive's startup removed from OpenAI's online properties After the removal, both the original blog post and a nine-minute video featuring Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are no longer accessible online. In the deleted content, Altman and Ive had announced that 'the io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco.' OpenAI has not provided further updates on the trademark dispute or when the content may return, but confirmed to The Verge that the deal is still moving forward. Originally announced on May 21, OpenAI's acquisition of io, the AI hardware startup founded by former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive, is valued at $6.4 billion in equity. The amount also includes OpenAI's earlier investment in io, effectively consolidating its previous stake into full ownership. This marks OpenAI's largest acquisition to date, surpassing past deals like the $3 billion Windsurf buyout and the acquisition of analytics startup Rockset. Looking for a Party Speaker? You NEED to See This! AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now