Federal court halts OpenAI hardware
- A federal judge in San Francisco barred OpenAI, Sam Altman, Jony Ive and io Products from using the “io” name while iyO’s lawsuit proceeds. - Judge Trina Thompson said iyO showed likely trademark success, citing survey evidence with 62.3% total confusion and 24% net confusion over branding. - The order hits OpenAI’s $6.5 billion hardware push built around Ive’s startup and keeps the branding fight alive. (bloomberg.com)
A federal judge in Northern California has barred OpenAI, Sam Altman, Jony Ive and io Products from using the “io” name while iyO’s trademark case moves forward. (9to5mac.com) (courtlistener.com) Judge Trina Thompson granted iyO’s motion for a preliminary injunction on April 23, 2026, in IYO, Inc. v. IO Products, Inc., Case No. 3:25-cv-04861-TLT. The order says iyO is likely to succeed on its trademark claim. (9to5mac.com) (courtlistener.com) The dispute is about branding, not a final ruling on trade-secret theft. iyO sued on June 9, 2025, alleging trademark infringement and related unfair-competition claims over the “io” name. (courtlistener.com) (9to5mac.com) The same judge had already issued a temporary restraining order on June 20, 2025, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that order on December 3, 2025. The new injunction keeps the restriction in place for the longer stretch before trial. (9to5mac.com) (courtlistener.com) A preliminary injunction is an early court order that freezes part of a fight before the full case is decided. Here, it means OpenAI’s hardware effort can continue, but not under the “io” brand. (9to5mac.com 1) (9to5mac.com 2) The judge pointed to survey evidence from iyO expert Mark Keegan showing 62.3% total confusion and 24% net confusion versus a control group. iyO argued that anything above 15% is commonly treated as strong evidence of likely confusion. (9to5mac.com) That matters because OpenAI made “io” central to its hardware push with Ive. In May 2025, OpenAI said it would acquire Ive’s startup io in an all-stock deal valued at about $6.5 billion. (bloomberg.com) (cnbc.com) Court records show iyO later amended its complaint on March 13, 2026, to add OpenAI OpCo, LLC and Tang Yew Tan as defendants. The preliminary-injunction motion itself was filed on February 20 and fully briefed on March 27. (9to5mac.com) OpenAI and Ive can still fight the case on the merits, and the injunction is not a final judgment that iyO wins everything it alleged. For now, the court’s message is narrower and concrete: no “io” branding while the lawsuit continues. (9to5mac.com)
