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AI and Protecting a Celebrity’s voice through Trademark
A growing number of celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie and the Backstreet Boys, are filing trademark applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office to protect the sound of their voices and signature catchphrases, following Matthew McConaughey's pioneering registrations from 2023. The strategy is a response to mounting concern over artificial intelligence being used to clone celebrities' voices without consent, compensation or legal recourse, and marks a shift away from relying solely on the patchwork of state right-of-publicity laws that have traditionally governed the use of a person's name, image and likeness.
Under the Lanham Act, a mark can be registered if it acts as a "source identifier" that consumers associate with a single origin, a principle already applied to sounds such as NBC's three-note chime, registered in 1950. McConaughey holds eight registrations, including his "Alright, alright, alright" catchphrase, granted between late 2025 and early 2026, alongside video-based "motion marks" of his gestures; Swift has filed for spoken-word audio clips, Richie for four lyric lines, and the Backstreet Boys for their group introduction. Lawyers note the approach is legally untested but attractive because federal registration offers nationwide enforcement, presumptive validity and statutory damages, potentially enabling platforms such as Google, Amazon and Meta to remove AI-generated deepfakes more readily than existing publicity laws allow.
In short
- Celebrities are trademarking their voices and catchphrases to fight AI cloning
- Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie and Backstreet Boys follow McConaughey's lead
- Federal trademark status could enable faster takedowns of AI deepfakes
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The voice is a distinctive commercial asset that celebrities have developed over careers, and AI now presents a genuine threat of unauthorized cloning. Trademark offers a tested framework—the source identifier principle already covers sounds like NBC's chime—providing federal protection, statutory remedies and practical tools for platforms to remove non-consensual deepfakes. This represents a reasonable extension of intellectual property protection to emerging technology, ensuring that any commercial use of someone's voice involves consent and compensation.
The case against
Whilst voice cloning raises legitimate concerns, trademark protection may be poorly suited to addressing them. The trademark system is fundamentally designed to prevent consumer confusion about product origin in commercial transactions, not to grant individuals control over distinctive personal characteristics; applying it here risks unintended consequences including restrictions on parody, legitimate criticism and transformative creativity. Specifically tailored legislation addressing AI voice cloning—incorporating consent frameworks and fair-use protections—or strengthened state publicity laws would provide clearer, more proportionate solutions without the legal uncertainty and potential overreach of repurposing trademark doctrine.
Explained simply
Artificial intelligence can be used to make recordings that sound like a real person said words they never spoke. US laws that protect a person’s name, image and likeness vary between states, which can make it difficult to challenge such recordings across the country.
A trademark is a sign that helps consumers recognise who made or provided something; it can be a word, logo or sound. US law has long allowed distinctive sounds to be registered, and actor Matthew McConaughey secured registrations for parts of his voice and catchphrase. Other performers, including Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie and the Backstreet Boys, have applied to register spoken clips or lyrics.
A federal trademark registration could give a performer a nationwide route to challenge unauthorised uses, including AI-generated voice clones. The approach is still legally untested, and it remains to be seen how well trademark law can address recordings that imitate a person’s voice.
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