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Global pop superstar Taylor Swift has filed three trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect her voice and likeness from unauthorized AI-generated deepfakes and voice clones. Filed on April 24, 2026, through her intellectual property management company TAS Rights Management, the applications mark a significant escalation in the music industry's battle against artificial intelligence misuse.
What Did Taylor Swift File?
Swift submitted two 'sound mark' trademark applications covering the spoken phrases 'Hey, it's Taylor Swift' and 'Hey, it's Taylor,' as heard in promotional recordings for her latest album The Life of a Showgirl (2025). A third application seeks to trademark a visual image of Swift performing on stage during her record-breaking Eras Tour, wearing an iridescent bodysuit and holding a pink guitar. The Eras Tour concert film became the highest-grossing concert film of all time in 2023.
Intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben, who first reported the filings, noted on his blog that these applications represent a novel legal strategy. 'AI technologies now allow users to generate entirely new content that mimics an artist's voice without copying an existing recording,' Gerben wrote. 'This creates a gap that trademark registrations may help fill.'
Why Trademark Law? The Legal Gap Explained
Traditional copyright law protects recorded performances, but it does not cover AI-generated imitations that recreate a voice from scratch without using any original audio. State-level 'Right of Publicity' laws offer some protection, but they vary widely and may not apply to content created outside a state's jurisdiction.
Trademark law, by contrast, operates at the federal level and can stop not only identical uses but also anything 'confusingly similar' to the registered mark. This broader scope could give Swift—who already owns over 50 trademarks for her name, album titles, and song lyrics—a powerful new weapon against AI impersonators. The legal challenges of AI voice cloning have prompted other celebrities to explore similar strategies.
Following Matthew McConaughey's Lead
Swift's move follows actor Matthew McConaughey, who earlier in 2026 became the first major celebrity to successfully trademark his own voice and catchphrase—the iconic 'alright, alright, alright' from the 1993 film Dazed and Confused. McConaughey told The Wall Street Journal that his goal was to create 'a clear perimeter around ownership, where permission and attribution are the norm in an AI world.'
Unlike Swift, McConaughey has also invested in the AI voice-cloning company ElevenLabs, demonstrating that the strategy is not anti-AI but rather pro-consent. Legal experts expect more celebrities to follow as deepfake technology becomes increasingly accessible and convincing.
Swift's History with AI Misuse
The filings come after Swift's likeness was repeatedly abused by bad actors. In January 2024, sexually explicit AI-generated deepfake images of Swift circulated on X (formerly Twitter), with one post viewed over 47 million times before removal. The incident prompted condemnation from the White House, SAG-AFTRA, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and sparked calls for federal anti-deepfake legislation.
In 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump also shared AI-generated images falsely suggesting Swift had endorsed his campaign. The singer had publicly endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020. More recently, in August 2025, X's Grok AI tool was used to generate further explicit images of Swift, reigniting demands for stronger protections.
Impact on the Music Industry and AI Regulation
Swift's trademark strategy arrives as lawmakers debate the NO FAKES Act (Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act), a bipartisan bill reintroduced in 2025 that would establish a federal right of publicity for digital replicas. The bill, supported by organizations including the RIAA, SAG-AFTRA, Disney, YouTube, and OpenAI, would allow individuals to sue creators of unauthorized AI-generated replicas and includes statutory damages of $5,000 per violation.
Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act), signed into law in 2024, already offers performers in that state protections against unauthorized AI use of their voices and likenesses. However, no comprehensive federal framework yet exists, leaving AI regulation in the entertainment industry fragmented and uncertain.
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben acknowledged that registering a celebrity's spoken voice as a trademark is legally untested territory. 'The effectiveness of these filings ultimately awaits testing in federal court,' he said. 'But the legal theories behind Swift's applications are strong, and I expect a landmark case when she eventually sues an AI platform directly.'
Processing times at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can take up to ten months, meaning Swift's applications may not be approved until early 2027. Nevertheless, the filings send a clear signal to AI developers and platforms: using a celebrity's voice or likeness without permission carries increasing legal risk.
FAQ: Taylor Swift's Trademark and AI Protection
What exactly did Taylor Swift trademark?
Swift filed two sound marks for the phrases 'Hey, it's Taylor Swift' and 'Hey, it's Taylor,' spoken in her own voice, plus a visual mark for an image of herself performing with a pink guitar during the Eras Tour.
How does trademark law protect against AI deepfakes?
Trademark law can block any use of a registered mark that is likely to cause confusion among consumers. If an AI-generated voice clip or image is confusingly similar to Swift's registered marks, she can sue for trademark infringement at the federal level.
Has this strategy been tested in court?
No. Trademarking a spoken voice for AI protection is a novel legal strategy that has not yet been tested in federal court. Legal experts expect a landmark case in the near future.
What other legal options do celebrities have against AI misuse?
In addition to trademarks, celebrities can rely on state Right of Publicity laws, copyright law (for recorded performances), and proposed federal legislation like the NO FAKES Act, which would create a federal right of publicity for digital replicas.
When will Swift's trademark applications be approved?
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office currently faces processing delays of up to ten months. Swift's applications, filed April 24, 2026, may not be approved until early 2027.
Sources
This article is based on reporting from Reuters, The Guardian, Variety, Rolling Stone, The Independent, CNET, Forbes, and the Gerben Law Firm blog. Additional context from the Taylor Swift deepfake pornography controversy (Wikipedia) and the NO FAKES Act (Congress.gov).
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