Summary
The viral AI-generated character Tung Tung Tung Sahur is at the center of a US lawsuit over who may use it in the Roblox game “Steal a Brainrot.” The Guardian reports that Indonesian teenager Noxa created the anthropomorphic drum character in 2025 with OpenAI’s image tool, using seven prompts over about 15 minutes. A French agency representing Noxa sent a cease-and-desist letter to the game’s owners; they sued, arguing the sparse prompting did not provide enough human authorship for copyright. The agency has also pursued trademark claims and a European takedown. US Copyright Office guidance says human-authored expression in AI-assisted work can be protected, but purely generated material or work lacking sufficient human control cannot, with each case assessed individually. The unresolved dispute now tests that boundary against a globally remixed character.
Hana’s perspective
This dispute matters beyond one meme because character businesses depend on identifiable ownership. Animation studios and microdrama producers cannot safely license, adapt or merchandise an AI-assisted character if nobody can show what a person actually contributed. The strongest practical lesson is documentation: save prompts, selections, redraws, edits, scripts and version histories, then define collaborator and platform rights before a character spreads. That record may not guarantee copyright, and trademark or contract law may still matter, but it gives partners something more concrete than a viral origin story. I also think the community’s role deserves recognition; virality can create enormous value without necessarily creating ownership. Courts will have to separate cultural participation from legally protectable expression.
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