Musk’s xAI faces multiple trademark battles over “Grok” chatbot name

Elon Musk’s xAI faces multiple trademark disputes over its chatbot name “Grok,” highlighting the complexities of intellectual property in the rapidly expanding AI industry. The USPTO has suspended xAI’s trademark application after flagging potential confusion with AI chipmaker Groq and software provider Grokstream, while startup Bizly claims it had already trademarked the name for its own AI product years earlier.

The big picture: This marks yet another naming controversy for Musk, who recently settled a lawsuit with a marketing firm over the rights to “X” for his social media platform.

Behind the name: Both Musk and Bizly derived “Grok” from the same cultural reference point.

• Musk named his AI chatbot after a term from Robert A. Heinlein’s 1961 science fiction novel “Stranger in a Strange Land,” where the Martian word means “to understand.”
• Bizly founder Ron Shah says he adopted the name in 2021 during a brainstorming session, noting the term’s common usage in tech circles to mean “to understand.”

The startup’s predicament: Bizly claims xAI’s use of the Grok name has devastated its business.

• Shah says Bizly was conducting a pilot of its Grok app with financial services company Carta when Musk announced his chatbot with the same name.
• A pending fundraising round collapsed due to investor concerns over the trademark dispute, according to Shah.
• Shah claims his company spent $2 million developing the Grok product and now faces imminent shutdown without compensation for damages.

The legal landscape: U.S. trademark law focuses primarily on preventing consumer confusion rather than protecting companies.

• Josh Gerben, founder of trademark-focused law firm Gerben IP, explains that trademark regulations aim to avoid confusion about who is behind a product or service.
• Despite believing xAI infringed on his trademark, Shah has hesitated to pursue formal legal action against “the richest man in the world.”

Where things stand: Shah has reached out to xAI seeking resolution but reports receiving no response.

• He’s contacted xAI attorney Robert Keele proposing potential partnerships or selling the trademark for “a fair price.”
• Shah has not yet sent a formal demand letter that would initiate legal proceedings, which could potentially force xAI to surrender the name or trigger a countersuit.