Taylor Swift has been on the middle of AI imitation controversies for years, and now, she’s turn into the most recent superstar who’s escalating makes an attempt to guard herself from AI copycats. As standard, nonetheless, the authorized system intersects with expertise in sophisticated methods — and Swift’s efforts could also be an extended shot.
In trademark purposes filed final week, Swift’s group requested for cover for 2 phrases spoken by the singer: “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor.” The trademark purposes, filed by TAS Rights Administration on behalf of Swift, embrace audio clips of Swift saying the 2 phrases as a part of a promotion for her newest album. “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift, and you may hearken to my new album The Lifetime of a Showgirl on demand on Amazon Music Limitless,” Swift says in one of many clips. TAS Rights Administration filed a trademark software for a photograph of Swift as nicely, which exhibits the musician “holding a pink guitar, with a black strap and carrying a multi-colored iridescent bodysuit with silver boots” on stage.
Although Swift’s group hasn’t stated that the logos are supposed to defend in opposition to AI misuse, it looks as if a probable chance given Swift’s historical past with AI. Not solely has the star needed to cope with the specter of AI music, however Swift additionally contended with an onslaught of sexualized AI deepfakes.
Artists have lengthy used copyright regulation to guard their music, however the rise of AI-generated tracks has made defending their work and likenesses harder. That’s as a result of copyrights solely defend an artist’s track — not their voice. Authorized groups have needed to get a bit artistic because of this, with Common Music Group (UMG) issuing copyright takedown requests of an AI-generated Drake track, citing the Metro Boomin producer tag that performs at first.
As defined by IP legal professional Josh Gerben, logos might assist fill the hole created by AI-generated mimicry. As an alternative of concentrating on precise copies of her music, Swift “might probably problem not solely similar reproductions, but additionally imitations which are ‘confusingly related,’” based on Gerben. The photograph of Swift, equally, might be probably used to take motion in opposition to related AI-generated imagery. Earlier this 12 months, Matthew McConaughey equally obtained logos for video clips of himself, together with one the place he says “Alright, alright, alright,” to guard in opposition to AI misuse.
However Alexandra Roberts, a professor of regulation and media at Northeastern College, tells The Verge that she’s “skeptical” that the audio clip submitted by Swift’s group “demonstrates use as a mark, moderately than only a phrase that’s included as a part of an extended message”:
Sometimes for a soundmark we’d consider one thing just like the NBC chimes or the MGM lion roar that performs at first of every present or film in isolation … If the USPTO [US Patent and Trademark Office] does difficulty preliminary refusals, Taylor’s group may have an opportunity to supply completely different specimens which may do a greater job satisfying the use requirement.
Swift’s logos might function one other authorized software in her arsenal in opposition to AI-generated copycats, even when they’re legally murky. Xiyin Tang, a regulation professor on the College of California, Los Angeles, tells The Verge that logos might assist “warn off unsophisticated infringers by directing them to a federal registration quantity and certificates of registration and hope that convinces them to cease, not as a result of the federal registration would truly maintain up in courtroom.”
There are already some avenues Swift’s group might take, together with the correct of publicity legal guidelines enacted throughout a number of states, which permit folks to take authorized motion in opposition to the misuse of their identify or likeness. Artists can fight false promoting and endorsements via federal regulation, too. “Swift additionally has quite a few trademark registrations for her identify, so she will be able to sue for federal trademark infringement if there’s a use of her identify by another person that creates a chance of confusion,” Roberts says.
To this point, solely Tennessee has handed a regulation that particularly addresses AI-generated copycats of an artist’s voice. Even YouTube’s deepfake detection software, which provides celebrities, politicians, journalists, and creators the power to take down AI-generated lookalikes, solely applies to folks copying their faces for now. Within the absence of a bigger framework for AI soundalikes, artists like Swift could hope trademark regulation will assist defend in opposition to AI mimics which are coming not only for their faces, however their voices, too.
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