The United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted iyO’s request for a preliminary injunction, preventing OpenAI and Jony Ive’s new hardware company from using the io trademark. Here are the details.
A little background
Last year, Sam Altman and Jony Ive announced that their companies would join forces in a new company called io to develop AI-powered products.
Shortly after, a company called iyO filed a lawsuit, alleging trademark infringement. iyO obtained a temporary restraining order, leading OpenAI to mentions of scrubbing of the newly formed company from the web.
In the following weeks, iyO and OpenAI submitted several documents stating that the companies had been in contact prior to the io announcement, including product demonstrations.
OpenAI argued that some of that disclosure involved unsolicited information and investment requests from iyO, while iyO recently modified his lawsuit for alleged theft of trade secrets.
Meanwhile, iyO also presented the results of a consumer survey to the court, arguing that the brands were similar enough to cause confusion among customers if OpenAI launched products too similar to its own offerings, such as connected headphones.
OpenAI, for its part, argued that its first product it wouldn’t be an AI-powered wearable device and added earlier this year that it is no longer planned use the io brand and asked the court to dismiss the case.
Which brings us to today.
The court sides with iyO
In a decision issued yesterday, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson agreed to iYO’s request for a preliminary injunction, essentially prohibiting OpenAI from using the io brand.
Essentially, Judge Thompson was unconvinced by OpenAI’s decision to voluntarily abandon use of the io mark and raised questions about whether the company could resume use of the mark in the future.
He added that if OpenAI really doesn’t plan to use the brand, a court order shouldn’t make a difference, but if it does, it protects iyO.
It also concluded that iyO “is likely to succeed on the merits of its trademark claim,” and admitted that iyO could continue to suffer “irreparable harm (…), including the inability to secure new investors, the depletion of its funding, and the usurpation of the value of its brand.”
You can read their full decision below:
Following the court order, the case is now moving further toward discovery. In a separate decision also issued yesterday, Judge Peter H. Kang ordered attorneys for both sides to meet and discuss ongoing discovery disputes, and report back to the court “no later than May 29, 2026.”
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