China rejects OpenAI’s GPT-5 trademark application in blow to US firm’s branding efforts

Chinese regulators last year also denied OpenAI’s efforts to register ChatGPT and GPT as trademarks on the mainland

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GPT-5 is OpenAI’s new flagship artificial intelligence model. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:00pm, 12 Aug 2025

Chinese authorities have rejected OpenAI’s attempt to register the name of its new flagship artificial intelligence model, GPT-5, as a trademark on the mainland, where the ChatGPT creator’s products and services are not officially available.

According to records on the website of the Trademark Office, under the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the US firm’s application through subsidiary OpenAI OpCo was denied and is pending appeal.

That was the latest rejection handed by the regulator to OpenAI. Last year, it denied a series of applications filed by the US start-up between March and November 2023 to register ChatGPT and GPT – covering AI models GPT-4, GPT-5, GPT-6 and GPT-7 – as trademarks on the mainland. These are still pending appeal.

The Trademark Office’s recent refusal dealt another blow to San Francisco-based OpenAI’s efforts to protect its brand in the fast-developing and highly competitive AI industry.

In February 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office denied OpenAI’s applications to trademark ChatGPT and GPT. “Registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a feature, function, or characteristic of applicant’s goods and services,” the regulator’s ruling said.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

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