OpenAI's 'Cameo' Trademark Trouble

What happened

OpenAI introduced a feature within its Sora application, enabling users to generate and share virtual likenesses, which it designated as "Cameos". Following a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by the celebrity video platform Cameo, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order. This order prohibits OpenAI from utilising "cameo" or similar terms, including "Kameo" and "CameoVideo", within Sora until 22 December, pending a hearing on 19 December to determine permanent injunction. The action restricts OpenAI's naming conventions for its virtual likeness feature.

Why it matters

This judicial injunction introduces an immediate operational constraint on OpenAI's product naming and marketing teams, requiring a rapid re-evaluation and potential rebranding of the virtual likeness feature within Sora. The burden falls on legal and product development teams to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order and to mitigate future trademark infringement risks. This situation increases the due diligence requirements for procurement and platform operators regarding naming conventions and intellectual property clearances for new features, highlighting a potential control gap in pre-launch legal vetting processes.