The trademark applications, first spotted<\/a> by intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben IP, include voice recordings of Swift saying “Hey, it’s Taylor”<\/b><\/a> <\/b>and “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift,\u201d<\/b><\/a> <\/b>as well as an image<\/a> showing her holding a pink guitar with a black strap and wearing a multi-colored iridescent bodysuit with silver boots. The image was used as a poster for her Eras Tour<\/i> concert series.<\/p>\n Swift\u2019s trademark applications, submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office <\/b>on Friday (April 24),\u00a0list TAS Rights Management, LLC<\/b>, a Tennessee-based entity, as the owner. The filings also include a signed consent from Taylor Swift to register her \u201clikeness (including but not limited to signature, voice and image) as a trademark or as a part of a trademark in the US and abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n The applications come as AI tools have made it easier to generate deepfakes of artists and celebrities, with Swift being a recurring target.<\/p>\n In 2024, lawmakers described explicit deepfakes targeting Swift as \u201csexual exploitation.\u201d<\/a> New York Representative Joe Morelle <\/b>said<\/a> in an X post at the time: \u201cThe spread of AI-generated explicit images of Taylor Swift is appalling \u2014 and sadly, it\u2019s happening to women everywhere, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, New York Rep. Yvette Clarke<\/b> wrote<\/a>: \u201cWhat\u2019s happened to Taylor Swift is nothing new. For yrs, women have been targets of deepfakes w\/o their consent. And w\/ advancements in AI, creating deepfakes is easier & cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an issue both sides of the aisle & even Swifties should be able to come together to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n Swift isn\u2019t the first celebrity to trademark their voice and image. In January, The Wall Street Journal<\/i> reported<\/a> that actor Matthew<\/b> McConaughey<\/b> has had eight trademark applications approved by the US PTO featuring him staring, smiling and talking.<\/p>\n Lawyers for the actor said the trademarks are designed to prevent AI apps or users from generating copies of McConaughey\u2019s voice or likeness without permission. The trademarks include a seven-second clip of the actor on a porch, a three-second clip showing him sitting in front of a Christmas tree and an audio of McConaughey saying,\u00a0\u201cAlright, alright, alright,\u201d a line from the 1993 film Dazed and Confused, <\/i>according to the report.<\/p>\n McConaughey told<\/a> the WSJ <\/i>in an email: \u201cMy team and I want to know that when my voice or likeness is ever used, it\u2019s because I approved and signed off on it. We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonathan Pollack<\/b>, one of McConaughey\u2019s attorneys, told the newspaper: \u201cIn a world where we\u2019re watching everybody scramble to figure out what to do about AI misuse, we have a tool now to stop someone in their tracks or take them to federal court.\u201d<\/p>\n YouTube<\/b> recently expanded<\/a> its AI likeness detection tool to the wider entertainment industry, opening access to celebrities and talent agencies for the first time. The detection system works similarly to YouTube\u2019s\u00a0Content<\/b>\u00a0ID<\/b>, which rightsholders use to flag unauthorized use of copyrighted material.<\/p>\n The expansion came six months after\u00a0YouTube<\/b>\u00a0started rolling out<\/a>\u00a0the AI detection tool in October, which was limited at the time to a specific set of creators with YouTube channels.<\/p>\n The tool was developed with support from talent agencies and management companies, including Creative Artists Agency<\/b> (CAA), United Talent Agency<\/b> (UTA), WME<\/b>, and Untitled Management.<\/b><\/p>\n In the music industry, deepfakes have become prevalent in recent years. In 2023, the\u00a0infamous \u201cfake Drake\u201d track<\/a> garnered hundreds of thousands of streams before it was\u00a0pulled down<\/a>\u00a0by media platforms.<\/p>\n As MBW previously reported, the wider music industry has been clamping down on deepfakes in recent months. Last month,\u00a0Sony<\/b>\u00a0Music<\/b>\u00a0asked streaming platforms<\/a>\u00a0to take down more than 135,000<\/b> songs it says were created by fraudsters using generative AI to impersonate artists on its roster.<\/p>\n
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