Cameo sues OpenAI for trademark infringement
29 Oct 2025, 01:07 PMCameo has sought an unspecified amount in monetary damages and requested for a court order to block OpenAI from using the Cameo name.
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Celebrity video platform Cameo has sued OpenAI, saying that that Sam Altman-led startup's new Cameo feature in its recently updated video generation app Sora violates its trademark rights.
"When naming its new service, OpenAI had a multitude of options to choose from... But in blatant disregard for the obvious confusion it would create, OpenAI instead selected “Cameo”," said Cameo in a lawsuit filed with the district court of California.
Cameo has sought an unspecified amount in monetary damages and requested for a court order to block OpenAI from using the Cameo name.
Cameo, which was founded in 2017 by Steven Galanis (CEO), Martin Blencowe, and Devon Townsend, had raised Series C funding in 2021 at a valuation that catapulted it to the unicorn status. However, its valuation slipped dramatically. According to a Forbes report last year, a consortium of 30 state attorneys general fined Cameo for not properly disclosing when celebrities were paid to endorse a certain product. But the company was not in a position to pay.
In a LinkedIn post, Cameo CEO Galanis noted, "This isn’t “innovation.” This is trademark hijacking-and it threatens the very soul of what we’ve built. We’re not anti-AI."
"We use AI; smart summaries, better search, even Cameo Kids with licensed animated characters. But we draw the line at letting a $500B giant steamroll a federal trademark that took a decade to earn," added Galanis.
Earlier this year, AI device startup Iyo Inc had also sued OpenAI and iPhone designer and io co-founder Jony Ive for trademark infringement.
A federal judge granted iyO a temporary restraining order in June 2025. The order blocked OpenAI from using the "io" mark.
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