Taylor Swift has long been at the center of the AI copying controversy, and now she’s the latest celebrity to escalate her attempts to protect herself from AI copying. But as always, the legal system intersects with technology in complex ways, and Swift’s efforts could be long-term.
In a trademark application filed last week, Swift’s team sought protection for two phrases uttered by the singer: “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor.” A trademark application filed by TAS Rights Management on behalf of Swift includes an audio clip of Swift saying the two phrases as part of a promotion for her latest album. “Hi, I’m Taylor Swift. My new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ is available on demand on Amazon Music Unlimited,” Swift says in one of the clips. The TAS Copyright Office also filed a trademark application for Swift’s photo. The photo shows the musician on stage “holding a pink guitar, wearing a black strap, and wearing a multicolored iridescent bodysuit and silver boots.”
Swift’s team hasn’t explicitly stated that the trademark is intended to protect against AI abuse, but given Swift’s history with AI, it seems like a good possibility. Not only did Swift have to deal with the threat of AI music, she also had to deal with an onslaught of sexualized AI deepfakes.
Artists have long relied on copyright law to protect their music, but the rise of AI-generated tracks has made it even more difficult to protect their work and likeness. That’s because copyright only protects artists’ songs, not their voices. As a result, the legal team had to get a little creative, and Universal Music Group (UMG) issued a copyright removal request for the AI-generated Drake song, citing Metro Boomin’s producer tag that plays at the beginning.
As IP attorney Josh Gerben explained, trademarks can help fill the gap created by AI-generated imitations. Rather than targeting exact copies of her music, Garben said, Swift “may not only be targeting identical copies, but also ‘confusingly similar’ imitations.” Similarly, Swift’s photo could be used to take action against similar AI-generated images. Earlier this year, Matthew McConaughey similarly trademarked his own video clips, including one in which he says “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay” to prevent AI from being misused.
But Alexandra Roberts, a professor of law and media at Northeastern University, said: The Verge She said she was “skeptical” that the audio clips submitted by Swift’s team “have been demonstrated to be used as marks, rather than simply phrases included as part of a longer message.”
Typically, when we think of sound marks, we think of things like NBC’s chimes or MGM’s lion’s roar, which plays alone at the beginning of each show or movie. [US Patent and Trademark Office] If a prior refusal is issued, Taylor’s team will have the opportunity to provide another specimen that may do a better job of meeting the requirements for use.
Swift’s trademark, however legally ambiguous, could serve as another legal tool in her arsenal against AI-generated counterfeits. said Shiying Tan, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. The Verge It said trademarks could help “warn inexperienced infringers by presenting them with a federal registration number and certificate of registration, in the hopes of persuading them to desist, not because the federal registration will actually hold up in court.”
There are already several steps Swift’s team can take, including right-of-publicity laws enacted in several states. This would allow people to take legal action against misuse of their name or likeness. Artists can also fight false advertising and endorsements through federal law. “Swift also has numerous trademarks for her name, so she can sue for federal trademark infringement if someone else uses her name to cause confusion,” Roberts said.
So far, only Tennessee has passed a law specifically addressing AI-generated imitations of artists’ voices. Even YouTube’s deepfake detection tool, which allows celebrities, politicians, journalists, and creators to remove AI-generated lookalikes, currently only applies to people who copy faces. In the absence of a larger framework for AI sound-alikes, artists like Swift may hope that trademark law will help with AI imitations, where voices are imitated as well as faces.
