Federal court rules that OpenAI must stop using the term ‘Cameo’

Cameo, the platform where celebrities sell short, personalized videos, has scored a in a trademark against OpenAI. A California judge has ruled that the AI company’s video generation tool cannot use the term ‘cameo’ or any variation likely to cause confusion. A temporary restraining order in the case was in November of last year.

The suit was in response to a feature available within the at launch called ‘Cameo’ that allowed users to add any likeness to videos they generated. Cameo claimed the use of the term in this setting was likely to cause confusion and could dilute their brand. OpenAI then with the feature despite the suit.

U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee ruled on Saturday that Cameo’s lawsuit was likely to succeed and granted a , blocking OpenAI from continuing to use the name. An OpenAI spokesperson responded to the ruling saying, “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,” according to .

This is just the latest in a string of intellectual property cases against AI companies that have accelerated as video generation capabilities have improved across the board. Rights holders of all kinds from and to have taken the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic, and others to court, seeking to protect their IP.