Literally every ML model is a transformer. Every single one of them. All of them are transformers. Using the word “transformer” to refer to a specific architecture is therefore absurd.
This is very different than naming a computer company Apple or Blackberry.
No stranger than Windows, given WIMP, even if you want to disregard the link to the trademarks for "transformer" (which I now realise doesn't work because the URL doesn't contain the search term, so here's one item from that list: https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00...)
Trademarks are just like this, always have been, probably always will be.
I think Transformer is a stupid name. I think the researchers who chose the name Transformer are big poopyheads for picking a bad name. I’d rather they have named it after themselves, an anagram of their names, or whatever. I wish everyone would stop using the name Transformer. I hope it does get trademarked for the sole purpose of reducing its usage. Ideally to zero.
I hate analogies. I think it would be similar stupid if Epic Games renamed “Unreal Engine” to “Game Engine” or if Toyota renamed the Camry to “Car”.
It’s extremely different from Apple.
It’s vaguely similar to Windows. Except when I write the words “window” in code no one will confuse it for the Operating System. Meanwhile I have written quite a lot of ML code and have regularly used the terms “transform” and “transformer”. None of which have had anything to do with the “Transformer” architecture.
Literally every ML model is a transformer. Every single one of them. All of them are transformers. Using the word “transformer” to refer to a specific architecture is therefore absurd.
This is very different than naming a computer company Apple or Blackberry.