Jony Ive's Io Venture Hit With Trademark Snag

Altman demurred. He was already developing "something competitive." That quiet incident rapidly escalated into a full-blown trademark dispute that recently landed before the Ninth Circuit, a high-stakes battle over two lowercase letters. The appeals court affirmed the temporary restraining order earlier this week.

This was a critical procedural win for the smaller entity.

The court’s reasoning was highly specific, centered on the likelihood of market confusion between "IO" and "iyO." For a collaborative entity like OpenAI and Jony Ive’s new hardware venture, the significant risk was specifically identified as reverse confusion.

This particular legal finding means the immense market presence and inherent technological gravity of the larger party could swiftly overwhelm and potentially eclipse the smaller brand. The court found iyO could face irreparable harm to its brand equity and crucial fundraising efforts if the larger party moved forward unchallenged.

OpenAI and Ive had selected the "io" name in mid-2023. This ruling is not a blanket prohibition on the "io" moniker; it specifically prevents the marketing and sale of hardware devices similar to those planned by the smaller company.

The legal odometer continues to spin in this complex matter of identity within emergent technology.

The case now returns to the district court for a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for April 2026. Litigation involving these major players and their nascent devices rarely concludes swiftly; the broader legal process is projected to extend through 2027 and even into 2028. Though the initial hardware device from the Ive/OpenAI partnership is anticipated next year, the branding challenge remains a tangible hurdle.

It is a quiet testament to the diligence required when staking a claim in the unforgiving landscape of intellectual property—a landscape where the future of interface is often decided by the careful parsing of two letters.