Italian PM files to trademark her voice against AI threats

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has applied to trademark her voice in a move to protect herself against artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes.

The application to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) was made on Monday and can be found on their website, external. The prime minister's office also confirmed the application.

As part of it, Meloni recorded a four-second audio where she says "Io sono Giorgia" - I am Giorgia Meloni" in Italian - twice.

Meloni is not alone in filing to protect her identity from unauthorised use by AI platforms. In January, US actor Matthew McConaughey led the way by trademarking his image and voice.

Singer Taylor Swift did similar in April, submitting three trademark applications in the US - one using a photo of herself on stage during her Eras Tour, and the other two being audio clips of her introducing herself while promoting her last album.