TPU-less Tachyum to defend its “TPU” trademark against Google
Tachyum takes aim at Google over its “TPU” Trademark
Tachyum, the “universal processor” company, has begun taking steps to defend its registered TPU trademark against Google. Now, Tachyum wants Google and others to stop using the term “TPU” as a descriptor for their products. For Google, TPU stands for Tensor Processing Unit, and it has used the term for a decade.
Earlier this year, Google released its 7th-generation “Ironwood” TPU. This makes now a late defence for Tachyum’s trademark. Why didn’t they take action against Google sooner? Tachyum applied for its Trademark in September 2015 and got it in October 2020. Google first began using TPUs in 2015 and officially announced the project at Google I/O in May 2016. Tachyum was formally founded in 2016.
(Last month Tachyum unveiled its 2nm “Prodigy Ultimate” processor specifications)
Tachyum, a tech company with no hardware, is challenging Google
Right now, Tachyum has no hardware. It frequently promises to launch cutting-edge hardware, but so far, it has failed to deliver. You can’t buy a Tachyum processor; they don’t exist. In contrast, Google has been releasing TPU products for years. There is no way to confuse Google’s use of the term TPU with Tachyum hardware, as Tachyum hardware doesn’t exist.
Below is what Tachyum’s CEO, Dr. Radoslav Danilak has to say about their trademark and planned battle against Google.
We applied for and were granted trademark protection for TPU as part of our portfolio of internationally registered and trademarked IP. Google’s unlicensed use of TPU represents an infringement that creates confusion and harms our business prospects within the AI marketplace,
Because of this, we are re-asserting our claim to the trademark rights of TPU as solely our corporate asset, and request that Google and others refrain from infringement to describe their similarly competitive products and services in the AI space. We fully expect a successful defense against Google’s redundant application of the term with the U.S. Trademark Office.
So what is Tachyum trying to achieve? Perhaps they want Google to license their use of the TPU term? Why didn’t Tachyum take action against Google years ago? All of this may become known over time. Given Tachyum’s inability to release hardware, their defence of their TPU Trademark feels like nothing more than Trademark trolling. That said, I’m not a lawyer, and I have no idea how Google will respond to Tachyum’s actions.
You can join the discussion on Tachyum’s planned legal battle against Google on the OC3D Forums.
