Elon Musk’s Neuralink Files to Trademark ‘Telepathy’

Elon Musk’s encephalon implant institution Neuralink has filed applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to exclusively ain the names Telepathy, Telekinesis, and others for aboriginal products.

Neuralink, which Musk cofounded successful 2016, is processing a benignant of exertion known arsenic a brain-computer interface, a strategy that decodes encephalon enactment to power an output device. Musk has said that the company’s archetypal merchandise volition beryllium called Telepathy and volition let radical with paralysis the quality to power a machine oregon telephone conscionable by thinking. But the Neuralink trademark exertion suggests that that institution has ambitions of its exertion enabling telepathic connection not conscionable with physics devices, but betwixt quality beings.

Neuralink’s interface involves a encephalon implant that collects neural signals and bundle that translates those signals into cursor movements connected a machine screen. So far, 3 radical person received Neuralink’s experimental implant arsenic portion of an aboriginal feasibility study. The first, Noland Arbaugh, underwent encephalon country successful January 2024 to get the device. In November, the institution received support to open a proceedings tract successful Canada.

The company’s trademark exertion for Telepathy, filed connected March 3, describes the merchandise arsenic “an implantable encephalon to machine interface for facilitating connection and power of bundle and hardware.” The "facilitating communication” assertion could mean that Telepathy is meant to assistance paralyzed radical pass by mode of typing connected an outer device, but it could besides mean allowing telepathic connection betwixt individuals with Neuralink implants.

“The question is, what benignant of communication?” says trademark lawyer Josh Gerben, laminitis of Gerben IP. “Sometimes things fell successful plain show successful these applications.” However, helium cautions that claims connected trademark applications tin beryllium speculative and overly wide compared with patent applications, which indispensable beryllium much elaborate astir however an invention works and what it volition beryllium utilized for. Enabling telepathic connection would, though, acceptable with Musk’s broader imaginativeness for Neuralink.

Musk has agelong been funny successful the conception of enabling telepathy with a brain-computer interface. In a lengthy illustrated explainer from 2017 successful which helium outlined the thought down his then-new institution Neuralink, Musk advocated for thought connection betwixt people. “If I were to pass a conception to you, you would fundamentally prosecute successful consensual telepathy. You wouldn’t request to verbalize unless you privation to adhd a small flair to the speech oregon something, but the speech would beryllium conceptual enactment connected a level that’s hard to conceive of close now,” Musk told blogger Tim Urban astatine the time.

More recently, Musk discussed Neuralink’s telepathic ambitions connected the Lex Fridman Podcast successful August 2024. “Entire caller ways of interacting with the machine mightiness beryllium unlocked,” Fridman said, referring to imaginable improvements successful the velocity and accuracy of Neuralink’s device. “And with different humans,” Musk replied. “Provided they have—they want—a Neuralink, too.”

Musk has speculated that steadfast radical volition yet get encephalon implants, enabling humans to achieve “symbiosis” with artificial intelligence.