US court bans OpenAI’s use of ‘Cameo’

A federal district court in Northern California ruled in favor of Cameo, a platform that allows users to receive personalized video messages from celebrities, and ordered OpenAI to stop using “Cameo” in its products and features.

OpenAI was using the name “Cameo” for Sora 2, an AI-based video creation app. This feature allowed users to insert their own digital likeness into AI-generated videos. In a ruling filed Saturday, the court said the names were similar enough to cause confusion for users and rejected OpenAI’s argument that “Cameo” was merely descriptive, finding it “implies rather than describes functionality.”

Last November, a court granted Cameo a temporary restraining order and stopped OpenAI from using the word. The AI ​​company has since renamed the feature to ‘Characters’.

“We’ve spent nearly a decade building a brand that stands for talent-friendly interaction and authentic connection, and we like to say, ‘Every cameo is an advertisement for the next cameo,’” Cameo CEO Steven Galanis said in a statement.

“This ruling is an important victory not only for our company, but also for the integrity of our marketplace and the thousands of creators who trust the Cameo name. We will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property against any platform that attempts to trade on the goodwill and name recognition we have worked hard to establish,” he said.

Regarding the ruling, an OpenAI spokesperson said, “We do not agree with the complaint’s assertion that anyone can claim exclusive ownership of the word ‘cameo.'”

OpenAI has been involved in several intellectual property lawsuits in recent months. Earlier this month, the company ditched the “IO” brand from its upcoming hardware products, according to court documents obtained by WIRED. Last November, digital library app OverDrive sued OpenAI for using “Sora” in its video creation app. The company is also engaged in legal disputes with various artists, creators, and media groups in various regions over copyright infringement.