Neuralink's Ambitious Plans

Neuralink, the brain implant company cofounded by Elon Musk, has filed applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to exclusively own the names Telepathy, Telekinesis, and others for future products. The company is developing technology known as a brain-computer interface, a system that decodes brain activity to control an output device.

Musk has said that the company's first product will be called Telepathy and will allow people with paralysis the ability to control a computer or phone just by thinking. The Neuralink trademark application suggests that the company has ambitions of its technology enabling telepathic communication not just with electronic devices, but between human beings.

Neuralink's interface involves a brain implant that collects neural signals and software that translates those signals into cursor movements on a computer screen. So far, three people have received Neuralink's experimental implant as part of an early feasibility study.

Trademark Applications

The company's trademark application for Telepathy describes the product as 'an implantable brain to computer interface for facilitating communication and control of software and hardware.' The 'facilitating communication' claim could mean that Telepathy is meant to help paralyzed people communicate by way of typing on an external device, but it could also mean allowing telepathic communication between individuals with Neuralink implants.

Neuralink has also filed to obtain trademarks for Telekinesis and Blindsight. Telekinesis is the purported psychic ability to move objects without physical interaction, and the trademark filing could refer to a future product to control robotic limbs and other devices.

Blindsight is a brain implant Neuralink is developing for people with vision loss. The trademark application describes the product as a device 'for restoring visual perception.' Neuralink is also attempting to trademark the terms Link, N1, and R1.