Recent developments involving Taylor Swift highlight a significant shift in how intellectual property rights are being leveraged in response to artificial intelligence technologies.
According to various sources, the artist has taken steps to strengthen the protection of key elements of her identity – including her voice, image, and distinctive personal markers – in a context marked by the rapid spread of AI-generated content.
Generative AI and the Limits of Traditional Legal Frameworks
Advances in content generation technologies, particularly vocal and visual deepfakes, now make it possible to replicate features with a high degree of realism, without directly reproducing a protected work.
Traditional legal frameworks, however, show limitations in addressing such scenarios:
- copyright protects original works, but not identity as such;
- image rights regulate certain uses of a person’s likeness;
- trademark law protects distinctive signs used in the course of trade.
While these tools remain relevant, they do not always adequately capture situations involving the simulation of identity enabled by AI.
Trademark Law as a Tool for Identity Protection?
In this context, trademark law is increasingly being explored as a complementary tool to secure certain identity attributes within a commercial framework.
In practice, this approach involves attempting to characterize elements of a person’s “persona” – such as voice fragments, characteristic expressions, or recurring visual features – as distinctive signs, provided they are perceived by the public as indicating the commercial origin of goods or services. In an environment where identity and reputation are commercially exploited, such elements may, in certain cases, indeed fulfill a trademark function.
This strategy offers practical advantages. It enables rights holders to rely on core trademark concepts such as infringement, likelihood of confusion, or association, even in the absence of identical reproduction. As such, it may provide a valuable legal basis to address AI-generated uses that are difficult to capture under copyright or image rights alone.
That said, this approach remains subject to the traditional requirements of trademark law. In particular, protection depends on the distinctiveness of the sign and on its actual use as a trademark, meaning its function as an indicator of commercial origin. Demonstrating this function may prove challenging when dealing with attributes inherently linked to an individual.
The case of Taylor Swift therefore reflects a broader evolution: trademark law is not newly becoming a tool for structuring economic identity, but is instead being pushed beyond its traditional boundaries, as economic identity itself becomes more granular, personal, and technologically reproducible. This shift mirrors a growing reality in which, for certain stakeholders, identity (voice, image, style) constitutes a strategic asset increasingly exposed to risks arising from AI technologies.
A Broader Trend: Protecting the “Persona”
This evolution builds on earlier reflections regarding the monetization of “persona” as an economic asset, notably illustrated by the case of Matthew McConaughey.
The situation involving Taylor Swift is part of a broader trend, also reflected in cases involving:
- Scarlett Johansson, who publicly objected to the use of a synthetic voice resembling her own;
- Tom Hanks, whose image was used without consent in an AI-generated advertisement;
- Bruce Willis, associated with discussions around the concept of “identity licensing”;
- as well as artists such as Drake and The Weeknd, whose voices have been replicated in AI-generated music.
Beyond public figures, these issues increasingly affect content creators more broadly, who are confronted with unauthorized reproductions of their voice or image.
What Legal Framework in the European Union ?
In the EU, several legal mechanisms may be invoked:
- image rights;
- related rights of performers;
- unfair competition claims;
- and, in certain cases, GDPR provisions where personal data enabling the identification of an individual is processed
However, these tools remain fragmented and were not designed to address large-scale, automated digital replication of identity.
Towards a Functional Expansion of Trademark Law
Against this backdrop, trademark law appears as a complementary mechanism that may be used to secure certain identity attributes within a commercial context.
The case of Taylor Swift illustrates a broader development: trademark law is, in certain situations, moving beyond its traditional scope to function as a tool for managing and protecting economic identity.
From a practical standpoint, this evolution calls for a more structured approach by rights holders. In particular, it may involve:
- identifying in advance the elements of identity that carry commercial value;
- assessing their ability to function as distinctive signs;
- considering trademark filings (including non-traditional marks) where appropriate;
and combining trademark protection with other legal grounds as part of a cumulative enforcement strategy.
Conclusion
The rise of generative AI highlights a broader transformation of intellectual property law: protection is no longer limited to works or traditional signs, but increasingly extends to the prevention of digital replication of the individual themselves.
In the medium term, this evolution may lead to a redefinition of the boundaries between different IP rights, or even to the emergence of more specific legal frameworks dedicated to the protection of digital identity.
These assessments are highly fact-specific and often require a strategic analysis of available intellectual property tools. At IFORI, we assist clients in evaluating and structuring the protection of their intellectual assets, including issues relating to trademarks and emerging AI-related risks.
