The developer of the celebrity custom short video app Cameo has filed a lawsuit in court, accusing OpenAI of trademark infringement by using "Cameo" as a core feature name in its video generation app Sora. This feature allows users to add any celebrity's "avatar" or image to their own videos using Sora2 video generation technology. Cameo claims that OpenAI is misappropriating a federally registered trademark, which could likely cause consumer confusion and cause irreparable damage to its brand value.

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The complaint states harshly: "Through the actions alleged in this complaint, OpenAI willfully misappropriates an established, federally registered trademark, disregarding ... obvious risks of consumer confusion, and the irreparable harm that would be caused to the plaintiff Cameo's trademark rights and brand."

Cameo's CEO Steven Galanis revealed that they had tried to resolve the dispute "amicably," but OpenAI refused to stop using the name, forcing them to take legal action. Cameo claims that OpenAI's actions are not only a misuse of the name, but also directly use deepfake technology to create images of celebrities like Mark Cuban and Jake Paul, starting their own "Cameo" service. The lawsuit compares the two services directly: "Users who want a customized celebrity video can book a celebrity through the plaintiff's Cameo service and receive a real customized video made personally by the celebrity; or use Sora's 'Cameo' service to create an extremely realistic AI-generated video containing a celebrity's image."

As the plaintiff, the Cameo platform has been known since its launch for offering personalized paid short video services with celebrities (such as Jon Gruden, Lisa Vanderpump, etc.), with prices ranging from $30 to $600.

Regarding this complaint, OpenAI is reviewing it, but a spokesperson told Reuters that OpenAI "disagrees with anyone claiming exclusive ownership of the word 'cameo'." Notably, the Sora app immediately came under scrutiny after its launch for potentially using the likenesses of deceased celebrities, anime characters, and other legally protected materials without authorization.