Because of the threat from AI: Taylor Swift wants to trademark her voice
Taylor Swift wants to protect her voice and appearance from unauthorized AI copies through trademark law. The clever legal trick closes a gap in copyright law, but has yet to prove practical in the US courts.
Brand protection against AI clones
A few days ago, Taylor Swift’s company, TAS Rights Management, filed three applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The primary goal of the applications is legal protection against unauthorized content generated by artificial intelligence. Two of the applications include so-called sound trademarks for the spoken phrases “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor,” which were used in promotional clips for the album The Life of a Showgirl.
The third application relates to a visual trademark. A picture of the artist on stage should be protected. The description includes a pink guitar with a black strap, a multi-colored bodysuit, and silver boots against a purple-lit background. In the recent past, the musician’s appearance had been abused several times for fake images. These included explicit representations and false political election recommendations.
New paths in US trademark law
Like attorney Josh Gerben in one Blog post As explained, attempting to register a person’s spoken voice as a trademark is an approach that has not been tested in court. Until now, artists have relied primarily on traditional copyright law to protect their recorded music from theft. Since modern AI models generate new content without directly copying existing recordings, a legal gap arises.
According to the lawyer, trademark rights could solve the problem. They not only apply to identical copies of a work, but also prohibit imitations that are confusingly similar to the trademark. In addition, such violations can be litigated directly in federal court. Swift is not alone in the legal strategy. Actor Matthew McConaughey secured trademark rights for his famous quote “All right, all right, all right” from the film Dazed and Confused as well as specific audio and video clips back in 2025.
Here too, the stated goal was to maintain control over one’s own identity and voice in a world shaped by algorithms. If the patent office approves the applications, celebrities will receive a legal tool to enforce injunctive relief against AI platforms. Whether the legal theory holds up in practice remains to be seen in future court cases. The exact distinction between a protected sound trademark and a coincidental voice similarity is difficult to legally define.
