They purchased the trademark from the old role playing game and then expanded it, if I recall.

The RPG did not invent the term. It was riding the hype of cyberpunk literature. The first use of the term is from 1980 (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyberpunk). According to Wikipedia, the game did not come out until 1988 (…m.wikipedia.org/…/Cyberpunk_(role-playing_game) ).