Tesla CEO Elon Musk can still choose to acquire the trademarks Robotaxi and Cybercab from their current owners, according to Laura Fresco, a trademark attorney at Hoyng Rokh Monegier. 'If there are disputes with third parties, you have to buy them out.'
Another setback for Musk: the U.S. trademark office has denied Tesla permission to register the name 'Robotaxi.' The same likely applies to Cybercab, Fresco says. A trademark must be distinctive, and if it describes certain characteristics or properties of goods, it cannot be monopolized. 'The idea is that Robotaxi is too descriptive, and competitors should be able to use something similar to offer their services.'
Cybercab presents a different issue: the name was already claimed. 'You could argue about whether the name is distinctive, but if a third party was earlier—there are many parties that have registered something with 'cyber,' and they all say it falls within their scope—you get a whole different conflict.' Behind Cybercab is a French company involved in the beverage trade. 'What that has to do with cybercab, I don’t know, but that requires further investigation, let’s just say.'
Not only Cybercab is already claimed, but Robotaxi is also registered in the EU and would thus have to be purchased, Fresco adds. She notes that Musk previously acquired the trademark X for Twitter. 'I think the distinctiveness hurdle for Robotaxi and Cybercab is harder to overcome. If that doesn’t work, he can’t get around it. But if it’s about disputes with third parties, you have to buy them out. That’s still an option.'