OpenAI just can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to naming things. A federal court in Northern California has sided with celebrity video platform Cameo, ordering the AI giant to stop using “Cameo” for its video generation features. This isn’t just a slap on the wrist. It’s becoming part of a troubling pattern for a company that’s supposed to be leading the technology revolution.
The ruling came down Saturday, and it’s pretty straightforward. OpenAI was using “Cameo” as the name for a feature in Sora 2, its AI-powered video generation app. The feature let users insert digital versions of themselves into AI-generated videos. Sounds cool, right? Except there’s already a company called Cameo that’s spent nearly a decade building exactly that kind of brand association with personalized celebrity videos.
When “Descriptive” Doesn’t Cut It
OpenAI tried the classic defense that “Cameo” was merely descriptive. The court wasn’t buying it. According to the ruling, the name “suggests rather than describes the feature,” which is legalese for “you knew what you were doing.” The court found the names similar enough to cause user confusion, which is pretty much the textbook definition of trademark infringement.
This wasn’t even OpenAI’s first warning shot. Back in November, the court had already granted a temporary restraining order. OpenAI responded by renaming the feature to “Characters,” which honestly should have been the move from the start. Why pick a fight over a name that’s already taken when you’re building something supposedly innovative?
The Bigger Picture Gets Messier
Here’s where things get interesting, and not in a good way for OpenAI. This Cameo case is just one item on a growing list of intellectual property disputes. Earlier this month, they dropped the “IO” branding for upcoming hardware products. In November, OverDrive sued them over using “Sora” for their video generation app. Then there are the various lawsuits from artists, creatives, and media groups across different countries over copyright violations.
Cameo CEO Steven Galanis didn’t mince words in his statement. He emphasized that his company has spent nearly a decade building their brand around “talent-friendly interactions and genuine connection.” It’s not just about business for them. It’s about protecting the marketplace and the thousands of creators who’ve built their presence on the platform.
OpenAI’s response through a Reuters spokesperson was predictably defensive. They disagree that “anyone can claim exclusive ownership over the word ‘cameo.’” But that’s missing the point entirely. This isn’t about dictionary definitions. It’s about trademark law, consumer confusion, and respect for existing brands in the marketplace.
Why This Keeps Happening
The pattern here suggests something deeper than just careless naming choices. For a company valued in the hundreds of billions and supposedly at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence, these repeated missteps feel almost amateur. Either they’re not doing proper trademark searches before launching features, or they’re banking on being able to muscle through legal challenges with their resources.
Neither option looks great. The first suggests incompetence in basic business operations. The second suggests arrogance about their market position. When you’re already fighting multiple copyright battles over your training data and facing scrutiny about how you build your AI models, picking unnecessary trademark fights seems remarkably shortsighted.
The real winners here aren’t just Cameo. It’s every smaller company watching to see whether trademark law still means something when you’re going up against a tech giant. This ruling sends a clear message that brand protection matters, even when the defendant has seemingly unlimited resources and claims to be building the future.
