US court bans OpenAI from using ‘Cameo’ | TechCrunch

A federal 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 used the name ‘Cameo’ for its AI-powered video generation app Sora 2. Users could use that feature to insert digital likenesses of themselves into AI-generated videos. In a ruling filed Saturday, the court said the name was sufficiently similar to cause user confusion, and rejected OpenAI’s argument that “Cameo” was merely descriptive, ruling that “it suggests rather than describes the function.”

In November, the court issued a temporary restraining order on Cameo and banned OpenAI from using the word. The AI ​​company then renamed the function to “Characters” after that order.

“We’ve spent nearly a decade building a brand that stands for talent-friendly interactions and real connection, and we like to say that ‘every Cameo is a commercial for the next.’ Cameo CEO Steven Galanis said in a statement.

“This ruling is a critical victory not only for our company, but 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 recognition we 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 pursuing our case,” an OpenAI spokesperson told us. Reuters in response to the statement.

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