If you thought mean girl Taylor Swift only dominated the music charts, think again. The superstar now aims to dominate the legal system as well. She recently filed three new trademark applications. Her goal is simple. She wants to stop AI tools from cloning her voice and image for unauthorised deepfakes.
It is a clever move. Deepfakes cause massive headaches for famous people. AI systems scrape data to create fake videos or audio that sound just like real stars. It is the Wild West out there, and Swift wants to put up a fence.
The Sound Mark Strategy
Swift is filing for something called sound marks. This is a strange legal category. Think of the Netflix tu-dum sound or that iconic giggle from the Pillsbury Doughboy. By trademarking specific audio clips of herself speaking her name, she creates a new legal shield. If someone creates AI content that sounds confusingly similar, she now has a weapon to use in court.
She also filed for an image of herself on stage while playing a pink guitar. The legal bar for violating a trademark involves proving something is confusingly similar. It is the same standard used to decide if a cheap action movie looks too much like a big blockbuster.
Why Copyright Fails
AI creators often argue they do not use copyrighted songs. They just train their systems to sound like a specific artist. That makes traditional copyright law difficult to use. By moving into trademark law, Swift hopes to plug that hole.
Matthew McConaughey is doing the same thing. Hollywood stars clearly want to stop tech companies from doing whatever they want with their likeness.
Courts have yet to test this legal theory. We do not know if these trademarks will hold up against AI-generated slop. However, if anyone has the time, money, and influence to find out, it is Taylor. She might just set the standard for every other celebrity worried about being replaced by a computer program.
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