Neuralink Seeks Trademarks for ‘Blindsight,’ ‘Telepathy,’ & ‘Telekinesis’

The filings, submitted in early March, align with Neuralink’s ongoing development of BCI technologies aimed at assisting individuals with paralysis and vision loss.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink has filed trademark applications for the terms "Blindsight," "Telepathy," and "Telekinesis" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). 

The filings, submitted in early March, align with Neuralink’s ongoing development of brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies to assist individuals with paralysis and vision loss.

Trademarked Technologies & Their Applications

The trademarks correspond to Neuralink’s core projects:

• Telepathy – Neuralink's first BCI product, designed to allow individuals to control devices through neural activity.

• Blindsight – An experimental implant intended to restore vision by directly stimulating the brain’s visual cortex.

• Telekinesis – A term Musk has used in reference to mind-controlled interactions with external devices.

Neuralink’s BCI development is part of its PRIME study (Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface). It involves implanting a small, neural activity-reading device into the brain region responsible for movement planning.

Clinical Progress & FDA Designation

The first human trial of Neuralink’s Telepathy implant occurred in 2024, when 29-year-old quadriplegic Noland Arbaugh received the implant and demonstrated the ability to interact with digital interfaces hands-free. Since then, two additional individuals have been implanted through the PRIME study.

"Combined, the PRIME Study participants have now had their Links implanted for over 670 days and used Telepathy for over 4,900 hours," Neuralink stated in a blog post. 

"These hours encompass use during scheduled research sessions with the Neuralink team and independent use for everyday activities. Independent use indicates how helpful the Link is for real-world applications and our progress toward our mission of restoring autonomy. Last month, participants used the Link independently for an average of 6.5 hours per day."

Blindsight, Neuralink’s vision-restoration implant, received an FDA breakthrough device designation last year. The device involves implanting a microelectrode array into the brain’s visual cortex, which activates neurons to generate visual perception.

According to Musk, the device is expected to provide individuals—including those who have lost both their eyes or optic nerves—with the ability to perceive visual information as long as their visual cortex remains intact.

"To set expectations correctly, the vision will at first be low resolution, like Atari graphics, but eventually it has the potential to be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet or even radar wavelengths, like [Star Trek's character] Geordi La Forge," Musk wrote on X.

Regulatory Approvals & Ongoing Trials

Neuralink has previously secured trademarks for terms related to its core technologies, including Link (the brain-computer interface), N1 (the electrode array implanted in the brain), and R1 (the surgical robot used for implantation).

In November, the company received approval from Health Canada to conduct a clinical trial on its N1 implant and R1 robot. The study, known as CAN-PRIME, will be carried out at Toronto Western Hospital under the University Health Network (UHN). CAN-PRIME aims to assess the safety of Neuralink’s BCI technology in a controlled clinical setting.

Additionally, Neuralink announced in the same month that it had received approval for the feasibility study CONVOY, which will evaluate the use of its wireless N1 implant to control an investigational assistive robotic arm.