The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has refused Tesla Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) attempt to trademark the term "Robotaxi."
What Happened: The USPTO issued a ‘Nonfinal Office Action' notice to Elon Musk's company on Tuesday, a filing by the agency revealed.
The agency said that it refused to grant the trademark as the term is "Merely Descriptive." Another trademark for Tesla's ride-hailing service is still under review.
"Registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a feature, ingredient, characteristic, purpose, function, intended audience of the applicant's goods and/or services," the filing stated.
The agency also said that the term “Robotaxi” is used generically by autonomous ride-sharing companies. However, USPTO stated that Tesla can provide evidence to support its trademark claim.
These can include "Fact sheets, instruction manuals, brochures, advertisements and pertinent screenshots of applicant's website as it relates to the goods and/or services in the application, including any materials using the terms in the applied-for mark."
Additionally, the agency also halted Tesla's Cybercab trademark. "Registration of the applied-for mark is refused because of a likelihood of confusion," with other similar trademark applications, the agency said.
The EV giant has also begun operating its robotaxi services in a limited rollout for employees, and has completed more than 1,500 trips in Austin as well as the San Francisco Bay Area.
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