US court bans OpenAI from using Cameo

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

OpenAI has been using the name “Cameo” for its AI-powered video generation app Sora 2. Users can use this feature to insert digital images of themselves into AI-generated videos. In a ruling filed on Saturday, the court said the name was similar enough to cause user confusion, and rejected OpenAI’s argument that “Cameo” was merely descriptive, finding that it “suggests the feature rather than describes it.”

In November, the court granted a temporary restraining order to Cameo and stopped OpenAI from using the word. The AI ​​company then renamed the feature to “Characters” after this arrangement.

“We’ve spent nearly a decade building a brand that represents talent-friendly interactions and genuine connection, and we like to say that every Cameo movie is a commercial for the next movie.” Cameo CEO Stephen Galanis said in a statement.

“This ruling is a critical 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 good faith and recognition we have worked so hard to establish,” he noted.

“We disagree with the complaint’s assertion that anyone can claim exclusive ownership of the word ‘cameo,’ and we look forward to continuing to make our case,” an OpenAI spokesperson told Reuters in response to the ruling.

OpenAI has been involved in several intellectual property cases in recent months. Earlier this month, the company dropped the “IO” trademark around upcoming hardware products, according to court documents obtained by WIRED. In November, digital library app OverDrive sued OpenAI over its use of “Sora” for its video creation app. The company is also engaged in legal disputes with several artists, creators and media groups in various geographies over copyright violations.