Crime Today News
In case you didn’t hear, before OpenAI and Jony Ive even had a product to market, the company was hit with a trademark lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed against OpenAI and Ive’s company, “io,” by a Google-backed startup, Iyo. Now, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has decided to speak up in public about the ongoing “io” trademark lawsuit.
OpenAI “io” trademark lawsuit
Now, on the surface, Iyo has a legitimate case in front of them. Ive’s “io” company does sound a lot like Iyo when pronounced. Plus, the company focuses on creating audio-first screenless devices powered by AI. This sounds very similar to what OpenAI and Ive are attempting to do.
However, in a series of posts on X, Altman disclosed that the lawsuit apparently stems from his refusal to acquire Iyo. It shows a series of emails between Altman and Iyo’s founder, Jason Rugolo.
In one email sent to Altman, Rugolo said, “I’d love the opportunity to pitch you to invest $10MM in my AI-meets-audio hardware company, iyO. We’re launching the best possible hardware interface to interact with AI-agents, after having obsessively focused on this problem since 2018.”
To Altman’s credit, he declined the offer because he was working on something competitive. Rugolo then asked if OpenAI might like to work with him instead. Altman said he’d have to defer to Ive. Ultimately, OpenAI would buy Ive’s “io” company for $6.5 billion, in which Rugolo sent another email to Altman expressing his confusion.
In his posts on X, Altman is trying to frame the “io” OpenAI trademark lawsuit as Rugolo attempting to “get back” at the company for not acquiring his startup. Altman states, “It is not cool to turn to a lawsuit when you don’t get what you want. Sets a terrible precedent for trying to help the ecosystem.”
Iyo’s claims
However, according to the lawsuit, Iyo claims that OpenAI knew about its startup and technology before launching “io”. It cites meetings with Altman’s investment firm and Ive’s LoveFrom design company. The company also says that it shared information about its upcoming product with former Apple designer, Evans Hankey, when they tried to recruit him. However, Hankey eventually went on to co-found “io” alongside Ive.
Rugolo has responded to Altman’s posts on X with his own, saying, “When an investor you pitched everything to, especially such a powerful one, tells you they are now doing something competitive… it’s just a terrible feeling.”
📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC
Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting
