“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare’s Juliet thought very little. Brand owners would strongly disagree.
In April 2026, Taylor Swift became the latest high-profile figure to use trademark law to assert control over her voice and image in response to increasingly sophisticated AI-generated impersonation or deepfakes. Following similar moves by Matthew McConaughey, the filings reflect a broader shift: the utility of trademarks is no longer confined to traditional product branding and they are being increasingly deployed to protect core aspects of identity, including voice, likeness, and other distinctive characteristics.
The deepfake problem
Two of Swift’s applications seek protection for the short spoken phrases “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor”, recorded in her own voice and filed as sound marks. A third application covers a specific stage depiction of Swift holding a pink guitar and wearing a shimmering multicoloured bodysuit with silver boots, an image closely associated with her record-breaking Eras Tour. These filings must be viewed against Swift’s experience as a high-profile target of AI-generated impersonation.
AI tools can create realistic imitations without reproducing any specific protected work but nonetheless conjure up the distinctiveness associated with the relevant brand amongst its consumers, thus potentially tapping into the associated goodwill. In response, major brand owners are seeking to ensure that trademarks continue to perform their fundamental function as an indicator of origin so as to distinguish the authentic from ‘the other’.
Why trademark law?
Trademark law offers a potential solution. It focuses on consumer confusion and prohibits confusingly similar use, not just replication. Registering distinctive voice clips and imagery may therefore allow rights holders to challenge AI-generated content that misleads consumers.
European dimension
In Europe, the footballer Cole Palmer holds UK and EU trademarks for personal identifiers including his name, signature, and ‘shiver’ celebration gesture. There is an EUIPO Grand Board of Appeal decision on the registrability of facial likeness marks that is likely to shape future applications in this area and bring some certainty around the scope of protection that can be obtained.
For Irish practitioners, the issue is particularly significant. Ireland is home to the European headquarters of many of the world’s largest AI and technology companies, making it central to the challenges of deepfakes under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). Ireland's media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, is already actively exercising its DSA supervisory powers.
AI is rapidly changing the consumer experience and brand owners are advised to undertake intellectual property strategy audits to ensure that their protection is sufficiently multifaceted to meet the opportunities and challenges that AI presents in the marketplace.
