AI is the fastest-growing category in trademark oppositions.
Oppositions over AI products have nearly tripled, the fastest growth of any category in the TTAB record. Many AI product names lean on descriptive words such as “AI”, smart and bot, which are difficult to register or enforce.
AI products are usually registered in Class 9 (downloadable AI software) and Class 42 (AI provided as a service). “AI” itself is descriptive for AI products, so it typically must be disclaimed and can’t be the distinctive part of your mark.
The record shows 256 AI oppositions in 2025 and a volume trend of +172%, the fastest growth of any category.
What trademark class is AI software?
Downloadable AI software and models you deliver to customers go in Class 9, and AI offered online as a service goes in Class 42. A product delivered both ways usually needs both classes.
Describe what the AI does, as in “non-downloadable software using artificial intelligence for drafting contracts”. “AI software” alone is too vague. See SaaS trademarks and software trademarks for the class basics.
Can I trademark a name with “AI” in it?
Yes, though you cannot claim the “AI” part. For AI products it’s descriptive, so the examiner will usually require a disclaimer, and the rest of the name has to be distinctive enough to register on its own.
The same goes for other descriptive tech words such as smart, bot, intelligence and labs. A name built mostly from them is hard to register and hard to stop others from using. Coined and arbitrary names clear more easily and are easier to defend.
How often are AI trademarks opposed?
AI drew 256 oppositions in 2025, up 172% on the volume trend. AI applications are also opposed at a higher rate than SaaS or downloadable software.
| Category | Oppositions 2021 through 2025 | 2025 | Volume trend | Rate per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial intelligence | 725 | 256 | +172% | 34.5 |
| Blockchain & crypto | 375 | 83 | +144% | 41.6 |
| SaaS | 3,162 | 745 | +36% | 28.4 |
| Downloadable software | 3,496 | 830 | +30% | 27.5 |
| Cybersecurity | 684 | 145 | +27% | 30.6 |
Do AI companies hire trademark lawyers?
Increasingly. Seven in ten AI defendants (70%) appear with counsel, and the number defending with counsel grew 155%, the fastest of any category and ahead of blockchain (+131%).
AI is crowded with similar names built from the same vocabulary, and well-funded companies police their marks. Clearing the name before you commit to it leaves more alternatives open.
What should I do if my AI trademark is opposed?
Calendar the answer deadline the Board sets, generally 60 days from the notice, and get advice before that date. Across all categories combined, 44% of opposed applicants never answer and lose by default.
The number of AI defendants answering through a lawyer grew 155%. Whether the dispute turns on the descriptive “AI” part or the distinctive part of the name shapes the whole strategy, so establish that early. Filing an answer keeps every option open, including a negotiated, narrower registration. See how trademark oppositions work, or help if you filed the application yourself.
44% is the share of matters showing a default, from 16,106 TTAB prosecution histories parsed so far.
How we work with you.
Clear the name
A search and a straight read on risk before you invest in labels, packaging or a launch.
File it right
The right classes, a goods description that matches how you sell, and a specimen that proves use.
Defend it
Office actions, oppositions and enforcement, with a clear view of cost before each step.
More questions.
Q01Can a logo or name generated by AI be a trademark?
Yes. Trademark rights come from using a mark as a brand, whoever designed it. Copyright is different. The US Copyright Office does not register material generated by AI without sufficient human authorship. For AI copies of a real person, see name, image and likeness rights.
Q02Should we file before launch?
Usually. An intent-to-use application secures a filing date while you build, which matters in a category growing this fast.
Q03Can a large AI company oppose our name?
Yes. Any owner who believes your registration would harm it can oppose, and large technology companies watch the register for their marks. Check the name before you build a brand on it.
Related help.
Trademark Registration
A clearance search and strategy before a USPTO filing that holds up.
Trademark Oppositions
Received a Notice of Opposition? Your answer deadline and your options for defending or settling it.
Filed It Yourself?
Attorney help when a self-filed application gets an office action, refusal, abandonment, or opposition.
Foreign Applicants
USPTO rules require trademark applicants based outside the US to be represented by a US-licensed attorney.
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