Why Trademark Filings by Taylor Swift and Matthew McConaughey Are Linked to AI Misuse

Several public figures have filed United States trademark applications covering their voices, faces and catchphrases. The applications are made with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Commentators and attorneys describe them as a way to protect a person’s identity from unauthorized use, including by AI-generated content.

Gowling WLG says trademark law focuses on consumer confusion and the link between a mark and its source, which may matter more as AI content becomes harder to tell apart from authentic material. Publicity rights, by contrast, are mainly set at the state level in the United States, so their scope and remedies vary by jurisdiction.

Why Trademark Filings Are Being Used to Protect Likeness

Josh Gerben, an intellectual property attorney, first noticed the Swift filings and wrote about them on Monday, April 27, 2026. He theorized that the trademarks were designed to protect Swift from threats posed by artificial intelligence, according to Fortune.

Fortune reports that Swift has been the target of AI misuse, including pornographic deepfake images that circulated online. In 2024, she also appeared in a fake endorsement of Donald Trump, which he reposted as genuine during his campaign.

Gerben noted that right-of-publicity laws offer some protection against unauthorized use of a celebrity’s likeness, and that trademark filings can offer additional protection.

Filing Date for the Swift Applications
TAS Rights Management, LLC filed three applications with the USPTO on April 24, 2026, according to Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman. Fortune says all three have been approved, while Gowling WLG says they are pending.

The Taylor Swift Applications at the USPTO

TAS Rights Management, LLC, Swift’s company, filed three applications with the USPTO on April 24, 2026, according to Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman (CLL). Fortune reports that the attorney of record is Rebecca Liebowitz, a partner at Venable.

The applications cover one image mark and two sound marks. The image is a photograph of Swift with a pink guitar, an iridescent bodysuit and silver boots, standing on a pink stage in front of a multicolored microphone with purple lights in the background. Gowling WLG says the photograph comes from the Eras Tour.

The two sound marks cover short audio clips of Swift saying a greeting that includes her name, one with her full name and one with her first name only. Gowling WLG says the clips were recorded during promotion for her 2025 album The Life of a Show Girl. Gowling WLG also notes that the album is the subject of a trademark dispute, without detailing it.

TMExpress describes the image application as covering live performances, music streaming, video content, and stage and public appearances. It says the design codes reference a guitar, boots, microphones and stage lighting, and it describes the filings as use-in-commerce applications. CLL says all three applications are for entertainment services, and that as of its May 14, 2026 alert Swift’s company had more than 175 active registrations and pending applications in the United States.

The status of the applications is reported differently. Fortune says all three have been approved and are awaiting assignment to an examining attorney. Gowling WLG says the applications are pending, and that whether they will succeed is still unknown. Fortune reports that requests for comment to a representative for Swift and to Rebecca Liebowitz were not immediately returned.

McConaughey and Other Celebrity Filings

Attorneys at Yorn Levine have told Variety that McConaughey’s filings aim to protect his voice and likeness from unauthorized AI use and support new AI-related opportunities, Fortune reports. In 2025, McConaughey made a deal with the voice-cloning company ElevenLabs, according to Fortune.

The dates for McConaughey’s registrations differ between sources. Fortune says his attorneys secured eight U.S. trademarks in January 2026, including a sound mark for his catchphrase. TMExpress says the catchphrase mark, filed through J.K. Livin Brands, Inc., was registered in December 2025 in Class 9. That class covers downloadable audio and video recordings about self-help, personal growth and spirituality.

TMExpress also reports April 2026 applications in Class 41 covering personal appearances, film and television production and celebrity entertainment. According to TMExpress, at least some of the filings include design elements depicting his likeness. CLL lists an April 5, 2026 application to register a photo of him.

TMExpress says McConaughey has said he wants a defined boundary, so that any commercial use of his likeness requires his explicit consent.

CLL also cites Usain Bolt, who registered his iconic pose on April 30, 2024. It says Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian and LeBron James hold registrations for their names and related identifiers.

Gowling WLG reports that Lionel Richie filed four voice and likeness trademarks in June 2026, one covering a spoken phrase. It also reports that the Backstreet Boys’ entertainment company later that month filed a sound mark for a spoken line from the group. Gowling WLG does not state the status of either set of filings.

Trademark law was not originally designed to address synthetic voices or AI-generated replicas.

How Trademark Protection Is Described to Apply to AI

TMExpress describes a registered trademark as giving the owner legal grounds to challenge unauthorized commercial uses of the mark. That includes AI-generated content that imitates it to sell products, earn revenue or deceive audiences. The site presents federal registration as more consistent and enforceable than state right-of-publicity laws.

CLL says the filings may provide an additional cause of action against AI imitations likely to cause confusion with a performer’s persona. It lists registration advantages including a presumption of the mark’s validity, federal jurisdiction and injunctive relief against infringers.

Gowling WLG says trademark law was not originally designed to address synthetic voices or AI-generated replicas. It also says the USPTO and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office may scrutinize whether these filings function as indicators of source in the traditional trademark sense.

TMExpress says a mark must function as a brand identifier, and that generic catchphrases or widely used names may face obstacles.

Limits, Open Questions and Enforcement

TMExpress describes registration as a proactive step rather than a guarantee, and says enforcement still requires action. It also says the filing class matters, that overly narrow scope can leave gaps, and that a search is needed for conflicting federal, state and common-law marks.

CLL says it will be interesting to see whether this approach succeeds against AI-generated infringements.

On publicity rights, Gowling WLG says protections are often fragmented and hard to enforce in fast-moving digital environments. CLL points to earlier New York alerts on state statutes covering publicity rights, sexually explicit depictions, and AI-generated and posthumous images.

The protective purpose of the Swift filings has been described by commentators. The status of the Swift applications remains the point on which the sources differ.