Taylor Swift is following in Matthew McConaughey’s lead by filing trademarks to protect her voice and likeness as AI runs rampant online.
As spotted by IP attorney Josh Gerben (via Variety), the Cruel Summer singer-songwriter’s TAS Rights Management filed a trio of trademark applications with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office late last week. Each covers different elements the artist is interested in keeping safe as AI-generated content fills social media feeds.
Two of the trademarks were similar, generic voice-related filings of the artist saying, “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift,” and “Hey, it’s Taylor.” The other is an image, which has been described as follows: “A photograph of Taylor Swift holding a pink guitar, with a black strap and wearing a multi-colored iridescent bodysuit with silver boots. She is standing on a pink stage in front of a multi-colored microphone with purple lights in the background.”
Swift’s move to keep her identity safe follows a similar tactic McConaughey took when protecting his voice and image earlier this year. The event saw the Interstellar star file trademarks for his memorable “alright, alright, alright” catchphrase as well as videos of him standing in front of a Christmas tree and on a porch.
“My team and I want to know that when my voice or likeness is ever used, it’s because I approved and signed off on it,” he told The Wall Street Journal in an email at the time. “We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.”
Both Swift and McConaughey filed trademarks in the interest of maintaining ownership over themselves now and in the future. It’s unclear how successful these strategies will be as technology continues to evolve in the future, or if other public figures plan to follow suit.
Swift has a history of taking major steps to protect her identity both online and in the music business. Prior to today’s move to fight against AI-generated content, she famously spent years re-recording some of her most famous tracks with the “(Taylor’s Version)” tagline before outright purchasing the master recordings for her first six albums for a reported $360 million.
For more on the musician’s career, you can read about how her Era’s Tour movie took over theaters in 2023, or how her The Life of a Showgirl premiere brought audiences back in 2025. You can also check out why stars like Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Lewis Capaldi teamed up for one of her recent music videos.
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
