Olivia Clavio Discusses Trademark Questions Surrounding Viral AI-Generated Memes With Law360

In a Law360 article on whether viral, AI-generated meme characters can be protected under copyright or trademark law, intellectual property counsel Olivia Clavio discussed the trademark questions surrounding Tung Tung Sahur, a so-called “brainrot” character featured in video games.

Clavio said an AI-generated character could theoretically function as a trademark because trademark law asks whether consumers perceive it as identifying the source of goods or services, not how a character was created.

But that does not mean fame alone is enough. The question, Clavio said, is whether consumers see Tung Tung Sahur as indicating a source rather than simply as “this funny brainrot character that's running around in a Roblox game.”