WIRED Speaks with Josh Gerben About Neuralink’s “TELEPATHY” Trademark Filing

Elon Musk’s company, Neuralink, recently filed multiple trademark applications with USPTO to protect a variety of future product names, including Telepathy.

WIRED and trademark attorney Josh Gerben analyzed what the language in Neuralink’s trademark application suggests about the company’s future plans.

The “TELEPATHY” trademark application seems to indicate that the company is attempting to enable telepathic communication between electronics and even other people.

“The question is, what kind of communication?” says trademark attorney Josh Gerben, founder of Gerben IP. “Sometimes things hide in plain sight in these applications.” However, he cautions that claims on trademark applications can be speculative and overly broad compared with patent applications, which must be more detailed about how an invention works and what it will be used for.

Source: Mullin, Emily. https://www.wired.com. “Elon Musk’s Neuralink Files to Trademark ‘Telepathy’”. 7 March 2025.