Taylor Swift submits trademark applications for voice, likeness over AI worries

Taylor Swift is the latest celebrity to go to court to protect their empire.

The singer/songwriter has filed paperwork to trademark her voice and her likeness.

Her company filed the applications with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Variety reported.

They were filed under the TAS Rights Management umbrella, according to CNN.

Two of the applications are for sound trademarks: “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor,” Variety reported.

The third application is for a visual trademark and is very specific, described as “a photograph of Taylor Swift holding a pink guitar, with a black strap and wearing a multi-colored iridescent bodysuit with silver boots. She is standing on a pink stage in front of a multi-colored microphone with purple lights in the background.”

A trademark attorney said the applications were “specifically designed” to protect her against artificial intelligence, CNN reported.

Josh Gerben wrote on his blog, that sound marks, like the ones Swift cited, are a “lesser known category of trademark protection.” Gerben added, “Attempting to register a celebrity’s spoken voice is a new use of trademark registration that has not been tested in court before.”

Swift has filed more than 300 trademark applications in the U.S.

The Associated Press said Swift has been a target of AI creators using her image in pornographic deepfakes as well as a fake endorsement of President Donald Trump as he campaigned for his second term. Trump reshared the image that had been generated.

She is not alone in the quest to curb AI’s use of stars’ voices and likenesses.

Matthew McConaughey also filed trademark applications to protect his voice and unauthorized use of his images, the AP reported.

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