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April 28, 2026 \u2014 10:56am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Now that artificial intelligence is clearly here to stay, celebrities are taking notice and pushing back. Pop juggernaut Taylor Swift recently filed three trademark applications, seemingly in an attempt to protect her voice and likeness from being recreated without her consent.<\/p>\n Her applications, filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office late last week, cover distinct \u201csound marks\u201d, namely the singer saying \u201cHey, it\u2019s Taylor Swift\u201d and \u201cHey, it\u2019s Taylor\u201d. They also cover one image trademark, specifically of the artist holding a pink guitar while standing on-stage in a multicoloured bodysuit and silver boots (one of her signature Eras Tour looks).<\/p>\n Swift isn\u2019t the first to take such measures in the uncertain age of AI. Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey was granted eight trademarks in 2025, including an audio snippet of him saying, \u201calright, alright, alright\u201d<\/a> \u2013 his famous line from the 1993 indie comedy Dazed and Confused \u2013 among other audio and video clips.<\/p>\n There are existing copyright protections for creative types. In the US, copyright law protects songs, but this is complicated by AI, given that the technology can now generate entirely new creations based on an artist or actor\u2019s voice. Beyond that, an individual\u2019s likeness or image is protected by \u201cright of publicity\u201d laws in certain states.<\/p>\n Related Article However, intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben wrote in his blog<\/a> that Swift and McConaughey\u2019s recent filings \u201ctest new theories on how trademark law will work in the AI age\u201d.<\/p>\n Gerben, the first to spot Swift\u2019s filings, said her trademark could theoretically allow the singer to claim that any use of her voice or image that resembles the registered trademarks violates her trademark rights. They technically don\u2019t have to be identical reproductions \u2013 if the creation is \u201cconfusingly similar\u201d<\/a> to her trademark, she could have a case.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a shot across the bow,\u201d according to Dr Kathy Bowrey, a professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice at UNSW. Bowrey says Swift is arguing \u201cthat if AI content is going to be generated, then she is claiming an entitlement to a share of whatever pie there is to have, and theoretically also trying to control some of those uses, especially those she isn\u2019t comfortable with\u201d.<\/p>\n Sounds rather foolproof, right? Surely, every celebrity will jump on a similar bandwagon as AI continues to evolve. Well, not quite.<\/p>\n Swift and McConaughey are among the first to use trademarks to try to protect their voice \u2013 such a case has yet to be fully brought to court, especially regarding AI. No precedent exists, though they could eventually set one.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Such trademarks are partially limited to the country in which they\u2019re granted since they apply to specific jurisdictions. \u201cWithout Australian trademark registrations, for example, they wouldn\u2019t work here,\u201d Bowrey said.<\/p>\n Celebrity rights legislation applies in some parts of the world, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t work particularly well in Australia \u2013 we don\u2019t have an analogue for that. We have competition laws. If something is, in practice, deceptive and misleading, then you can prevent that. But there isn\u2019t anything that creates an ownership-right over image or likeness.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, it seems such a trademark could give US artists and actors additional protections \u2013 or further ammunition \u2013 in the fight against non-consensual AI creations that mimic their persona.<\/p>\n Related Article It\u2019s unsurprising that someone like Swift would find this appealing. She has been mimicked by AI several times without her permission. Last year, Meta\u2019s unauthorised AI chatbots<\/a> of virtual celebrities, including Swift, reportedly \u201croutinely made sexual advances\u201d, forcing the tech giant to take them down. The singer has been the subject of pornographic \u201cdeep fakes\u201d<\/a>, and US President Donald Trump even shared an AI-generated image of her<\/a> during the 2024 election campaign that falsely suggested she endorsed him.<\/p>\n This is becoming an increasing challenge for celebrities, who make money from singular personas. The entertainment industry\u2019s growing unregulated use of AI was one of the major issues during the dual Hollywood strikes in 2023.<\/p>\n The studios struck a deal<\/a> that ensured significant AI guardrails, but it remains a contentious issue. British television presenter Jeremy Clarkson applied to trademark his face earlier this year after his image was used without consent in various advertisements. Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson hired lawyers in 2024 after finding her voice \u201ceerily similar\u201d to an OpenAI chatbot<\/a>.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen if Swift\u2019s filings will work as intended. According to Gerben, \u201cA Federal Court will need a case to stress-test the legal theories behind the filings. That said, the legal theories behind the filings [seem] strong.\u201d<\/p>\n Must-see movies, interviews and all the latest from the world of film delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our Screening Room newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0a85f4150f3ca8586ad34d66fa472cd2ab79e35a.jpeg\")
Taylor Swift has applied to have her voice and image trademarked. Note: this image is not the visual used in her application.Jason South<\/p>\n![\"X](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/03640a0d84930260a5d35714c60e880c83c9a485.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/c3fdc367d246af154ff2e3f98e56c5889c210fc0.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/bc62508ef19b6e2feedd5afa6e558d56c3864d75.png\")
Nell Geraets<\/a> is a Culture reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 28, 2026 \u2014 10:56am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":["post-635495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}