Cameo, the popular app that lets you buy personalized video messages from celebrities, just scored an early victory in its legal battle against the AI giant OpenAI. A federal judge in California has officially blocked OpenAI from using the word “cameo” to describe a feature in its new video-generating app, Sora.
The legal fight started last November when Sora first launched. OpenAI included a tool called “Cameo” that let users add realistic digital versions of people into their AI-generated videos. The real Cameo company quickly sued, arguing that using the same name for a similar feature would confuse customers and damage their brand. Even after the lawsuit was filed, OpenAI kept the feature live.
Now, a judge has stepped in. U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee ruled on Saturday that Cameo’s case is likely to succeed. As a result, she granted a preliminary injunction, which forces OpenAI to stop using the name immediately while the case moves forward.
OpenAI isn’t backing down. A spokesperson for the company told they disagree with the idea that anyone can claim exclusive ownership of a common word like “cameo.” They plan to keep fighting the case in court.
This lawsuit is just one piece of a much larger legal war currently brewing in the tech world. As AI tools get better at creating images, music, and videos, companies that own the original content are getting more aggressive about protecting their work. Everyone from authors and music publishers to major movie studios are taking AI firms to court. This case shows that even something as simple as a name can become a major battleground. For now, OpenAI will have to find a new word for its AI video feature.
