Court Slaps OpenAI: Sora’s “Cameo” Feature Gets Bodied by a $100M Celebrity App
Court Slaps OpenAI: Sora’s “Cameo” Feature Gets Bodied by a $100M Celebrity AppA federal judge just told the biggest AI company on the planet to pick a new name. The little guy won.
A Northern California federal court has ordered OpenAI to stop using the word “Cameo” in Sora 2 — after the celebrity video app Cameo sued and won a preliminary injunction. OpenAI already renamed it to “Characters.”
Look, OpenAI is worth hundreds of billions and they still couldn’t figure out that maybe — just maybe — a company called Cameo might have a problem with them calling their feature “Cameo.” That’s the kind of move that gets you dragged into court. And dragged they were.
🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary
| Term | Translation |
|---|---|
| Preliminary Injunction | Court says “stop doing that RIGHT NOW” before the full trial even happens |
| Sora 2 | OpenAI’s AI video generator — makes clips from text prompts |
| Cameo (the feature) | Let you put your face into AI-generated videos. Now called “Characters” |
| Cameo (the company) | App where you pay celebrities $50-$500 to say happy birthday to your cousin |
| Trademark Infringement | Using someone else’s brand name and pretending it’s fine |
| Likeness | Your face, your voice — the digital version of you |
📖 The Backstory: How OpenAI Walked Into This
Real talk: OpenAI launched Sora 2 and included a feature called “Cameo” that let users insert themselves into AI-generated videos. Cool tech. Terrible name choice.
Cameo — the celebrity video app founded in 2017 — was not amused. They filed a trademark lawsuit (Case No. 5:25-cv-09268-EKL) in Northern California.
- November 2025: Court grants a temporary restraining order. OpenAI told to stop using the name immediately.
- February 14, 2026: Judge Eumi Kim Lee grants the full preliminary injunction.
- OpenAI’s response: Renamed the feature to “Characters.” Still salty about it.
(I’ve seen startups lose their whole identity over naming disputes. OpenAI thought they were too big for that. They weren’t.)
⚖️ What the Judge Actually Said
Judge Lee wasn’t having it. Here’s the breakdown:
- The name “Cameo” suggests rather than describes the feature — meaning it’s not a generic word anyone can use
- There’s sufficient consumer confusion between the two products
- OpenAI’s argument that “cameo” is just a common English word? Rejected.
- The court found the products are related enough that people could think they’re connected
OpenAI’s spokesperson told Reuters: “We disagree with the complaint’s assertion that anyone can claim exclusive ownership over the word ‘cameo,’ and we look forward to continuing to make our case.”
Translation: they’re mad but they already changed the name so… the court won.
📊 The Numbers Don't Lie
| Metric | Cameo (the app) | OpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Current Valuation | ~$100M (down from $1B peak) | $300B+ |
| 2024 Revenue | ~$9M net | $5B+ |
| Founded | 2017 | 2015 |
| Business Model | Celebrity video marketplace (25-30% cut) | AI subscriptions + API |
| Legal Budget | Small | Basically infinite |
Look, Cameo’s valuation dropped 90% from its unicorn days. They went from $1B to under $100M after a cramdown Series D in 2024. But they still had enough fight to drag OpenAI into court and win. That’s scrappy.
🗣️ What People Are Saying
- Legal Twitter: “OpenAI keeps learning the hard way that IP law applies to them too”
- AI community: Mixed. Some think it’s a frivolous suit. Most think OpenAI should’ve known better.
- Cameo’s position: They’re protecting the one thing they have left — their brand name
- Pattern: This is part of a growing stack of IP cases against OpenAI. They’re getting sued from every direction — publishers, artists, coders, and now trademark holders.
🔍 The Bigger Picture: AI's Naming Problem
Real talk: this isn’t just about one word. AI companies are shipping features so fast they’re not doing basic trademark searches.
- OpenAI named a feature after an existing company. Got sued.
- The “Characters” rename actually describes the feature better anyway.
- Sora’s Characters feature lets you record 3-10 seconds of video + audio, then insert yourself into any AI scene
- You control who uses your likeness — just you, approved people, or everyone
- Max 2 characters per video. Works with pets, plushies, doodles too.
The whole thing could’ve been avoided with a 5-minute trademark search. But when you’re moving fast and burning billions, who has time for that?
Cool. OpenAI got smacked by a judge over a name. Now What the Hell Do We Do? (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
💰 Hustle #1: AI Trademark Watch Service
Here’s the play. AI companies are shipping features weekly and they clearly aren’t checking names. Build a trademark monitoring service specifically for AI/tech startups. Charge $49-199/month to alert them before they step on someone’s brand.
Example: A paralegal in Manila built a similar service using the USPTO API and a simple dashboard. She charges $79/month per client and has 40 SaaS startups signed up. That’s $3,160/month with maybe 10 hours of work per week maintaining it.
Timeline: 2-3 weeks to build. Use the USPTO TESS database API + a simple Next.js frontend. Start cold-emailing AI startups on Product Hunt.
💼 Hustle #2: AI Feature Name Generator + Clearance Tool
Build a tool that generates feature names AND checks them against trademark databases simultaneously. No AI company wants to spend $500/hour on a trademark attorney for every feature they ship. Give them a $19/month tool that does 80% of the work.
Example: A dev in Nairobi built a domain name + trademark checker combo tool, listed it on AppSumo for a lifetime deal at $39. Moved 600 licenses in the first month. $23,400. The trademark angle is the real value-add nobody else is doing.
📱 Hustle #3: Celebrity Likeness Protection Service
Sora’s Characters feature lets anyone put themselves in AI videos. But what about people who DON’T want their likeness used? Build a monitoring service that scans AI-generated content platforms for unauthorized use of someone’s face/voice.
Example: A cybersec researcher in Bucharest built a face-matching tool that monitors social platforms for deepfakes of paying clients. Started with local influencers — 15 clients at $200/month. $3,000/month and growing because every influencer has this problem now.
🔧 Hustle #4: IP Dispute Case Study Newsletter
Every week there’s a new AI company getting sued over IP. Start a niche newsletter covering AI intellectual property battles. Monetize with sponsorships from IP law firms (they pay WELL for qualified leads) and a premium tier with detailed case analysis.
Example: A law student in São Paulo started a Portuguese-language newsletter covering tech IP disputes in LATAM. 4,200 subscribers in 6 months. Two law firms sponsor it at $800/month each. $1,600/month for writing one email per week.
📝 Hustle #5: Sora Characters / AI Video Face Insertion Tutorials
The renamed “Characters” feature is genuinely useful and most people don’t know how to use it well. Make YouTube tutorials, sell Gumroad templates for character setups, or offer a done-for-you service creating AI video content with custom characters.
Example: A content creator in Kuala Lumpur made a 12-video YouTube series on Sora 2 tips right after launch. 340K total views, $1,800 in AdSense, plus $4,200 selling a “Sora Masterclass” on Gumroad at $29. All within 5 weeks.
🛠️ Follow-Up Actions
| Action | Tool/Resource | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Search USPTO trademark database | USPTO TESS | Free |
| Build trademark checker MVP | Next.js + USPTO API | Free (hosting ~$5/mo) |
| Start IP newsletter | Beehiiv free tier | $0 to start |
| Learn Sora 2 Characters feature | OpenAI Help Center | ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo) |
| Face recognition for monitoring | InsightFace (open source) | Free |
| Sell digital products | Gumroad | 10% transaction fee |
Quick Hits
| Want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
 Check if a name is trademarked |
Search USPTO TESS for free before you ship anything |
 Use Sora Characters feature |
Record 3-10 sec of yourself, insert into any AI video |
 Flip this news into $ |
Build a trademark checking tool for AI startups |
 Protect your own likeness |
Set Characters permissions to “only me” in Sora settings |
 Follow the case |
Case No. 5:25-cv-09268-EKL, Northern District of California |
OpenAI can build artificial general intelligence but can’t do a 5-minute trademark search. That tells you everything about where the real money is — in the boring stuff nobody wants to do.
!