in September OpenAI provided users with the ability to generate a digital likeness that they could employ to create personalized deepfake videos. This is one of the core features of Sora, an OpenAI app for sharing AI videos in a TikTok-style feed. The self-deception feature was dubbed “cameo,” and this unique feature helped Sora quickly climb to the top of Apple’s iOS download charts.
This feature name led to a trademark lawsuit with the company Cameoan app where fans can pay celebrities to record personalized videos. Now, due to legal action, OpenAI has temporarily removed the “cameo” branding from its Sora app. The app now calls this feature “characters”.
Artistic originality can’t be achieved with generative AI, which relies on finding patterns in huge datasets, and OpenAI seems to fit this derived vibe into its naming schemes. In addition to being told to remove the Sora “cameo,” OpenAI was recently ordered not to call its upcoming hardware device “io” in response to a separate lawsuit filed by a company called “iyO” which 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 short-lived restraining order. The judge’s order prevented OpenAI from using “cameo” or variations of the word. The next hearing, which may decide whether to maintain this ban, is scheduled for December 19.
According to Steven Galanis, Cameo’s CEO, discussions between Cameo and OpenAI are “basically non-existent.” “They clearly knew Cameo existed. They knew we had trademarks on it,” he told WIRED shortly after the judge issued the short-lived restraining order. “They chose that name anyway.”
He sees the lawsuit as an “existential” battle over the word “cameo” and the app brand he has built over the past eight years. “When people think about this word, it now means something other than authentic, personalized connections,” Galanis said. “This indicates an AI error.” Galanis said the OpenAI feature name is already hurting Cameo’s visibility in Google search results.
“We disagree with the complaint’s assertion that anyone can claim exclusive ownership of the word ‘cameo’ and look forward to taking our case further to court,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in an emailed statement.