OpenAI Sued Over ‘Astra’ as Software Company Says It Used the Name First

OpenAI has been sued over the name of GPT-6 Astra by a California software company that says it used the trademark years earlier and now risks looking like the copycat.

TradeSun Inc. filed the lawsuit October 5, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claiming it has used ASTRA for artificial intelligence software since 2021 and secured a federal trademark registration in 2022. OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra on September 3, 2026.

Since that launch, OpenAI has expanded the Astra name into specialized products, including Astra for Law, aimed at law firms and legal technology companies.

At issue is what trademark law calls “reverse confusion.” TradeSun says OpenAI’s much larger market presence could cause customers to associate Astra primarily with OpenAI, leaving the earlier user of the name looking like the imitator. The Ninth Circuit recognizes that theory in trademark cases involving a dominant later entrant.

The complaint says that risk is heightened because both companies use Astra for artificial intelligence products sold to business customers. TradeSun’s platform handles document processing, data extraction, verification, risk screening and automated workflows, areas it says overlap with OpenAI’s expanding Astra products.