Cameo, the famous US-based video messaging platform, made an important decision from the court in its trademark case against OpenAI. The company initiated legal proceedings, citing OpenAI’s unauthorized use of the name “cameo” in Sora, an artificial intelligence-supported video creation application similar to TikTok. The temporary restraining order, issued by U.S. District Judge Eumi K. Lee on November 25, prohibited OpenAI from including similar expressions such as “cameo,” “Kameo” or “CameoVideo” in Sora until December 22.
In his statement to CNBC, Cameo CEO Steven Galanis emphasized that this temporary decision taken by the court aims to protect consumers from possible confusion. Galanis said, “This decision of the court is an important step towards preventing the damage caused to the public and our brand by the confusion created by OpenAI using the Cameo brand.” Stating that the decision is temporary for now, Galanis also stated that they hope OpenAI will give up using this brand permanently in the future.
OpenAI: The word Cameo cannot be owned by a single company
On the other hand, in the statement made by OpenAI, it was claimed that the word “cameo” cannot be owned by a single company. Speaking to Engadget, an OpenAI spokesperson said, “We do not find it right to claim singular and absolute rights over any word. Therefore, we will continue to present our own opinion in court.”
The start of the litigation process dates back to October. At that time, Cameo claimed that OpenAI used the term “cameo” in its Sora application, damaging its brand awareness and causing confusion among users. The company also claimed that they tried to resolve the situation amicably before initiating the legal process, but OpenAI did not respond positively to these calls.
The feature in the Sora application allows users to upload their own images and use these images in AI-supported videos by others. Cameo thinks that this system can be confused with the personalized celebrity videos it offers.
The temporary ban decision given by Judge Eumi K. Lee will be evaluated at a hearing to be held on December 19. This hearing is expected to decide whether OpenAI will be permanently banned from using “cameo”-like phrases.
Within the scope of US commercial law, the recognition of brands in the industry and their perception among users are of great importance. The use of similar names in the same industry or similar technologies is carefully examined by the courts for the risk of deceiving the consumer. In this context, the case may lead to a re-discussion of the limits of trademark rights in the field of technology.