Taylor Swift is escalating her legal battle against AI deepfakes by filing trademarks for her voice and image. The famous singer filed three applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on April 25, 2026, seeking protection for the phrases “Hey, it's Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it's Taylor,” as well as a photo of her performing. The move is a groundbreaking effort to address the growing threat of AI-generated content that illegally uses celebrities' voices and images.
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The trademark applications were filed by TAS Rights Management on behalf of Swift and include audio clips of the singer saying the two phrases as part of a promotion for her latest album. In one of the clips, Swift says: “Hey, it's Taylor Swift, and you can listen to my new album The Life of a Showgirl on demand on Amazon Music Unlimited.” The application also includes a photo of the musician “holding a pink guitar, with a black strap and wearing a multi-colored iridescent outfit with silver boots” on stage.
While Swift ’s team hasn’t explicitly stated that the trademarks are intended to protect against AI misuse , it seems likely given her history with artificial intelligence. The star has faced not only the threat of AI music , but also an onslaught of sexualized AI deepfakes that caused a social media uproar in 2024. These incidents highlight the urgent need for new legal protections.
Legal challenges in the era of AI deepfakes
Artists have traditionally used copyright law to protect their music, but the rise of AI-generated tracks has made defending their work and likeness more difficult. That’s because copyright only protects an artist’s song — not their voice. As a result, legal teams have been forced to get a little more creative, with Universal Music Group (UMG) issuing copyright takedown requests for an AI-generated Drake song , citing the Metro Boomin producer tag that plays at the beginning.
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As copyright attorney Josh Gerben explains , trademarks could help fill the void created by AI- generated imitations . Instead of targeting exact copies of her music, Swift “ could potentially challenge not just identical reproductions, but also imitations that are ‘conceitfully similar, ’” according to Gerben . Swift ’s photo , similarly, could potentially be used to take action against similar AI-generated images.
Earlier this year, Matthew McConaughey similarly acquired trademarks for video clips of himself, including one where he says “ Alright, alright, alright ” to protect himself from AI misuse . This trend shows that celebrities recognize the need for proactive protections in the age of deepfakes .
Technical challenges and future prospects
However, Alexandra Roberts , a professor of law and media at Northeastern University , is skeptical about whether the audio clip submitted by Swift ’s team “ demonstrates use as a mark, rather than simply a phrase included as part of a larger message .” Typically, for a sound mark, we would think of something like NBC ’s bells or MGM ’s lion roar that plays at the beginning of each show or movie individually.
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Gerben points out that “now, anyone can create a version of an artist’s voice, make it say anything, attach it to anything, and distribute it on a large scale,” even if they are not exact copies, causing reputational damage. He predicts that Swift will trigger “a storm of similar filings,” calling her “a leader in the intellectual property space” amid AI deepfakes that depict celebrities in “really not pleasant” scenarios.
