Key points
- A trade-finance AI company sued OpenAI over "Astra"
- It says it registered the name in 2022
- OpenAI says the complaint lacks merit
OpenAI was sued for trademark infringement in federal court in San Francisco on Oct. 5 over the name of its flagship AI model, GPT-6 Astra. The plaintiff, TradeSun, says it has used the "Astra" name for its own AI software since 2021, Reuters reported.
TradeSun, based in Del Mar, California, makes Astra software that uses AI agents to analyze trade documents for banks and other financial institutions. According to Bloomberg Law, TradeSun's complaint says it secured a federal trademark registration for Astra covering AI software services in 2022.
TradeSun argues that customers could mistake its Astra software for an OpenAI product or assume the companies are affiliated. "By saturating the market with 'Astra,' OpenAI is teaching the public that Astra means OpenAI," TradeSun said in the complaint, according to Reuters.
"This complaint lacks any merit whatsoever. We remain focused on responsibly building technology that benefits everyone," an OpenAI spokesperson told Bloomberg Law.
TradeSun wants the name removed from OpenAI's products
TradeSun is asking the court to order OpenAI to remove the Astra name from all of its products, Bloomberg Law reported. It also wants a judgment that OpenAI infringed its trademark and the profits OpenAI earned from the name. Reuters reported that TradeSun is seeking unspecified damages.
"TradeSun built ASTRA from the ground up, and for more than five years we have invested in the technology, our customers and the name behind it," founder and Chief Executive Nigel Hook said in a statement, according to Bloomberg Law.
The case is TradeSun Inc. v. OpenAI OpCo LLC, No. 3:26-cv-11360, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
OpenAI has faced earlier name fights in the same court
OpenAI began rolling out GPT-6 Astra on Sept. 3. It has faced other trademark suits in the same federal court, according to Bloomberg Law. In February, a judge barred OpenAI from using the name "cameo" for features in its now-defunct Sora video generator, and that case is still pending.
In April, another judge blocked OpenAI from using "io" branding for AI devices. OpenAI dropped the "io" name and settled the case with the wearable tech company iyO in July.
