Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ Trademark Rejected for Being Too Generic, Says TechCrunch

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has rejected Tesla’s application to trademark the term “Robotaxi” for its autonomous vehicles, ruling that the term is too generic, according to a report by TechCrunch on Wednesday.

Key Points:

  • The USPTO issued a nonfinal office action, giving Tesla three months to respond before the application is officially abandoned.

  • Tesla’s separate application to trademark “Robotaxi” for its upcoming ride-hailing service remains under review.

  • Tesla also attempted to trademark “Cybercab”, but that application is on hold due to conflicts with other trademark claims involving the prefix “Cyber”.

Implications for Tesla:

This development could complicate Tesla’s branding strategy for its upcoming autonomous ride-hailing service, which is slated to launch in Austin, Texas by June. The inability to secure exclusive rights to widely used industry terms may limit Tesla’s marketing and legal protection around these initiatives.

Context:

  • Tesla has been vocal about its ambitions to introduce “autonomous ride-hailing for money,” but the company has acknowledged that shifting global trade policies and political uncertainty may impact both its production and demand forecasts.

  • The term “robotaxi” is commonly used across the autonomous vehicle industry to describe self-driving cabs, making it difficult to claim proprietary ownership.

Tripledot Acquires AppLovin’s Mobile Gaming Studios for $800 Million

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Tripledot Studios, a London-based mobile game developer, announced Thursday that it will acquire AppLovin’s mobile gaming studio portfolio for approximately $800 million in a mix of cash and stock, marking a major expansion move into the global gaming market.

Deal Highlights:

  • Portfolio Expansion: Tripledot will gain control of popular titles like Cash Tornado, Wordscapes, and Wordle, adding to its own hits like Woodoku, Nut Sort, and Triple Tile.

  • Studio Growth: The acquisition includes 10 gaming studios, extending Tripledot’s operational reach to 17 new cities across North America, Europe, and Asia.

  • Market Penetration: The move boosts Tripledot’s presence in key markets such as the U.S. and Asia, crucial territories in mobile gaming.

Strategic Shifts:

AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi commented that the gaming studio acquisitions originally served to train its machine learning models, but clarified:

“We have never been a game developer at heart.”

This divestment signals AppLovin’s intention to focus on software-based advertising and machine learning infrastructure, rather than content creation.

Broader Context:

  • The acquisition follows AppLovin’s reported bid for TikTok’s non-China operations as part of the U.S. mandate set by President Donald Trump, with an April 5 deadline for a non-Chinese buyer.

  • Tripledot’s acquisition aligns with ongoing consolidation trends in mobile gaming, as companies scale through M&A to build global portfolios and data capabilities.

U.S. Lawmakers Warn UK: Encryption Backdoor Order to Apple Threatens Global Cybersecurity

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Senior U.S. lawmakers have expressed sharp criticism over the United Kingdom’s order requiring Apple to create a backdoor into its end-to-end encrypted services, warning that such a move could weaken global cybersecurity and violate privacy rights.

What Happened?

  • U.S. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast sent a joint letter to UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, urging a reconsideration of the order, known as a Technical Capability Notice (TCN).

  • The TCN compels Apple to make encrypted user data accessible to UK authorities, prompting Apple to withdraw its Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK earlier this year.

“Creating a backdoor… introduces systemic vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals and authoritarian regimes,” the lawmakers warned.

Key Concerns from U.S. Lawmakers:

  • Global Implications: Because Apple serves users worldwide, any security backdoor would have ramifications for U.S. citizens and others outside the UK.

  • International Law Violation? The lawmakers argue the UK’s TCN may breach the U.S.-UK CLOUD Act agreement, which prohibits orders requiring decryption.

  • Secrecy and Transparency Issues: UK law forbids Apple from disclosing the existence of the order—even to the U.S. Department of Justice, its own home government.

  • Human Rights Risk: The TCN “conflicts with international human rights standards,” they said, citing European Court of Human Rights precedent protecting encryption under the right to privacy.

Apple’s Position:

Apple has consistently refused to build backdoors into its devices, stating that doing so would compromise the security of all users, not just those under investigation. The company is challenging the TCN at the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

UK Government Response:

The Home Office maintains that access to individual data would still require a separate judicial warrant, not blanket access. However, critics argue that weakening encryption—even with controls—creates irreparable security risks.