In September, OpenAI launched a way for users to generate a digital likeness of themselves that they could use to create personalized deepfake videos. This is one of the core features of Sora, OpenAI’s app for sharing AI videos in a TikTok-style feed. The auto-deepfaking feature was called “cameo,” and thanks to this remarkable feature, Sora quickly rose to the top of Apple’s iOS download charts.
That feature name led to a trademark lawsuit with Cameo, the app where fans can pay celebrities to record personalized videos. Now, due to the lawsuit, OpenAI has temporarily removed the “cameo” branding from its Sora app. The app now refers to the feature as “characters.”
Creative originality is not achievable through generative AI, which relies on finding patterns in large data sets, and OpenAI seems to fit that derivative vibe with its naming schemes. In addition to being ordered to remove “cameo” from Sora, OpenAI was also recently ordered not to call its upcoming hardware device “io,” in response to a separate lawsuit from a company named “iyO” that is already building an AI-powered hardware device.
According to update logs on OpenAI’s website, the company removed the Sora feature name more than a week after U.S. District Judge Eumi K. Lee issued a temporary restraining order. The judge’s order blocked OpenAI from using the term “cameo” or variations of the word. The next hearing, which could decide whether to maintain this ban, is scheduled for December 19.
Discussions between Cameo and OpenAI have been “virtually non-existent,” according to Steven Galanis, CEO of Cameo. “They clearly knew Cameo existed. They knew we had marks on it,” he said in a call with WIRED shortly after the judge issued the temporary restraining order. “They still chose the name.”
He views this lawsuit as an “existential” battle over the word “cameo” and the brand of the app he has built over the past eight years. “When people think about this word, it now means something different than authentic personalized connections,” Galanis said. “That means AI slope.” Galanis claimed that the OpenAI feature name was already hurting Cameo’s visibility in Google search results.
“We disagree with the complaint’s assertion that anyone can claim sole ownership of the word ‘cameo,’ and we look forward to continuing to assert our case in court,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
