Taylor Swift seeks trademarks for two spoken phrases amid AI copycats

In short: Taylor Swift has filed new trademark applications for two phrases she says, as another way to push back against AI-made impersonations.

What happened

Taylor Swift’s team filed trademark applications last week for two spoken phrases: “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor.” A trademark is a legal protection for a brand name or slogan, like putting a “reserved” sign on words used to sell something.

The move comes after years of controversy around AI imitations of celebrities, including Swift. AI tools can copy a person’s voice or style by learning patterns from recordings and videos, then producing new audio that sounds similar (like a very advanced impersonator).

Trademarks are usually used to stop other people from using a phrase in certain business situations, such as selling products, running ads, or offering services under that name. They are not a simple “do not copy my voice” button. That is why, as The Verge notes, the effort could be a long shot depending on how the phrases are used and how the trademark office responds.

Why it matters

For regular people, this is part of a bigger question: what legal tools actually work when AI makes it easy to imitate someone’s identity. If well-known public figures still struggle to protect basic parts of their persona, it can signal how hard it may be for smaller creators and everyday people to stop scams, fake endorsements, or misleading content that uses their name or voice.

Source: The Verge AI