A California court fight could help determine who, if anyone, owns viral AI-generated characters. Do Big Studios, the Roblox developer behind hit title “Steal a Brainrot,” sued French startup Mementum Lab after it sought licensing for Tung Tung Sahur, a leading “Italian brainrot” meme. Do Big argues AI outputs aren’t protectable because they lack human authorship; Mementum counters that the character’s creator conceived the concept and prompts and is pursuing trademark claims to recover damages. The dispute lands amid shifting U.S. policy: the Copyright Office says AI-assisted works may be protected, depending on human input, while courts have rejected copyrights for works made solely by AI. With millions of dollars potentially at stake and a youth audience driving demand, the case could shape how courts assess prompt-driven authorship, the line between copyright and trademark in AI creations, and how gaming platforms license viral content. Legal scholars note the bar for originality is low but warn against using trademark to sidestep unanswered copyright questions.
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