Digital library giant OverDrive has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI's text-to-video application "Sora" in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, alleging that the name, icon, and color scheme of "Sora" are confusing with its own student-oriented reading app "Sora,"涉嫌 trademark infringement, unfair competition, and deceptive business practices.
OverDrive stated that its "Sora" brand has reached 12,000 K-12 school districts across the United States since its launch in 2018. However, OpenAI released a product with the same name in February 2024, despite knowing about the existing "Sora" brand, and used a similar purple-blue gradient and book elements in its visual design, causing teachers, librarians, and students to confuse the two, affecting its market share and brand reputation. The lawsuit requests the court to issue a permanent injunction to prevent OpenAI from continuing to use the "Sora" trademark and to claim damages for economic losses and legal fees, the amount of which is not disclosed yet.
OpenAI has not yet submitted a defense, but in a public statement, the company emphasized that its "Sora" is a generative video model and not in the same category as e-reading software, implying it will argue the difference in trademark categories as a defense. Legal experts pointed out that if the court determines that the services of both parties are in "related channels" and target "the same audience," OverDrive's trademark rights may receive expansive protection. This case is also seen as a landmark litigation in the AI era regarding cross-category trademark conflicts.
