OpenAI must stop using ‘Cameo’ term in Sora app, judge rules
OpenAI may soon have to find a new name for the "Cameo" feature in its AI video generator app Sora.
A judge has just issued a preliminary win to Cameo, the online platform where consumers can purchase custom videos from celebrities, regarding its trademark infringement lawsuit against OpenAI.
Cameo, the company, argued that OpenAI's Cameo feature would likely cause confusion among consumers. U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee agreed, at least, preliminarily. Previously, OpenAI renamed the feature "Characters" after the same judge issued a temporary restraining order, according to Tech Crunch.
"In sum, OpenAI uses ‘cameo’ as the app-defining feature to promote the Sora application; it uses it in a manner derived from Plaintiff’s CAMEO® mark; it is employing a nearly identical marketing strategy; and it is using ‘cameo’ to describe realistic AI-videos that are, at times, indistinguishable from Plaintiff’s authentic Cameo Videos," the judge wrote in the preliminary order.
The judge also highlighted some of the questionable content produced using Sora’s cameo feature.
“Plaintiff’s concern is based on troubling content already generated on the Sora application. For example, within the first few weeks of launching Sora 2, users began generating and sharing ‘hyper-realistic deepfake videos’ of Martin Luther King, Jr. doing 'crude, offensive or racist things,' including videos of him stealing from a grocery store and fleeing from police.”
Within Sora, users can opt in to a feature that allows their likeness to be used in AI-generated content. This is the feature that OpenAI has called Cameo. The AI giant has continued to use the Cameo name so far, regardless of the lawsuit.
Cameo lets consumers pay celebrities to record real custom videos as personal greetings, holiday gifts, and birthday messages. Cameo has argued that an AI product with the same name that generates videos would likely cause brand confusion.
However, it appears that OpenAI isn't giving up on the term "cameo" without a fight.
"We disagree with the complaint's assertion that anyone can claim exclusive ownership over the word ‘cameo,’ and we look forward to continuing to make our case," said an OpenAI spokesperson, according to Reuters.
OpenAI has faced several legal issues related to copyright infringement. After a backlash over rampant copyright infringement on the Sora video app, OpenAI introduced an opt-out option for copyright holders.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.