WeSearch

Taylor Swift wants to trademark her voice and likeness. Will others follow suit?

Nell Geraets· ·4 min read · 0 reactions · 0 comments · 0 views
Taylor Swift wants to trademark her voice and likeness. Will others follow suit?

As AI continues to advance, celebrities are worried they will lose control of their identities. Could trademarking their voice and image be the answer?

Original article
The Sydney Morning Herald · Nell Geraets
Read full at The Sydney Morning Herald →
Full article excerpt tap to expand

{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-04-28T00:56:43Z","datePublished":"2026-04-28T00:56:43Z","description":"As AI continues to advance, celebrities are worried they will lose control of their identities. Could trademarking their voice and image be the answer?","headline":"Taylor Swift wants to trademark her voice and likeness. Will others follow suit?","keywords":"Copyright, Just in, AI, Taylor Swift","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nell Geraets","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"/by/nell-geraets-p5364z"}],"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/taylor-swift-wants-to-trademark-her-voice-and-likeness-will-others-follow-suit-20260428-p5zrkp.html","@type":"WebPage"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"1322.6666666666665","url":"https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.30910683012259194%2C$multiply_0.7025%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_34/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/3751cd2945ba793325ba7a26f4e99f8e8a9a2176","width":"744"},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"hasPart":[{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".paywall"}],"publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"628","url":"https://www.smh.com.au/metro-assets/assets/static/smh.png","width":"1200"},"url":"https://www.smh.com.au"},"isPartOf":{"@type":["CreativeWork","Product"],"name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","productID":"smh.com.au:webonly"}}{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/culture","name":"Culture"},"position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity","name":"Celebrity"},"position":2},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/topic/copyright-1ncb","name":"Copyright"},"position":3}]}AdvertisementCultureCelebrityCopyrightTaylor Swift wants to trademark her voice and likeness. Will others follow suit?Nell GeraetsApril 28, 2026 — 10:56amSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAANow 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.Her applications, filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office late last week, cover distinct “sound marks”, namely the singer saying “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor”. 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).Taylor Swift has applied to have her voice and image trademarked. Note: this image is not the visual used in her application.Jason SouthSwift isn’t 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, “alright, alright, alright” – his famous line from the 1993 indie comedy Dazed and Confused – among other audio and video clips.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’s voice.…

This excerpt is published under fair use for community discussion. Read the full article at The Sydney Morning Herald.

Anonymous · no account needed
Share 𝕏 Facebook Reddit LinkedIn Email

Discussion

0 comments

More from The Sydney Morning Herald