Meloni has applied to trademark a recording of her voice

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has applied to the European Union Intellectual Property Office to trademark a short recording of her voice, the BBC, the Associated Press, and Reuters reported. The BBC’s story, read on 6 October, says the application was made on Monday and that the prime minister’s office confirmed it. AP’s story, datelined Rome, says the filing was first reported by La Repubblica and was confirmed by an Italian official speaking on condition of anonymity. Reuters says the application is dated 5 October on the EUIPO website and was confirmed by her office.

This article does not include an EUIPO application number. The number was not read off the public register.

What the recording is

AP says the application includes a four-second audio recording of Meloni repeating, in Italian, “Io sono Giorgia Meloni” (“I am Giorgia Meloni”). Reuters says the recording is four seconds and that she twice repeats the phrase “I am Giorgia Meloni.” The BBC says she recorded four seconds in which she says “Io sono Giorgia” twice. Reuters adds that “Io sono Giorgia” (“I am Giorgia”) was the title of her 2021 autobiography, echoing a 2019 rally line that was later turned into a disco track.

Reuters says the EUIPO application is still under examination.

What a sound mark has not been shown to do

A registered sound mark is not, on this record, a block on AI voice clones. Reuters says Italian media have reported that even if the application is approved, it would not by itself prevent the use of her voice in AI-generated deepfakes, though it could create additional legal obstacles for people seeking to replicate it. That is Italian media, as Reuters reports them. No court ruling opened for this story holds that an EU sound mark stops a synthetic voice.

Other celebrity filings, as the BBC states them

The BBC says Meloni is not alone in filing to protect identity from unauthorised AI use. It says that in January, Matthew McConaughey trademarked his image and voice. It says Taylor Swift in April submitted three trademark applications in the United States: one using a photo of herself on stage during her Eras Tour, and two audio clips of her introducing herself while promoting her last album. Those prior filings are the BBC’s account.

One line of background, and her words as the BBC prints them

In 2024, Reuters reports, Meloni launched a civil action against a man from Sardinia accused of creating and posting online deepfake pornographic images using her face. Reuters says the case remains pending before an Italian court.

The BBC, describing a later social-media post, quotes Meloni: “The point, however, goes beyond me. Deepfakes are a dangerous tool, because they can deceive, manipulate, and strike anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot.” That quotation is the BBC’s text of the post. The social-media post itself was not the page opened here.

What the reports support

Three outlets report an EUIPO sound-mark application, a clip of about four seconds, and confirmation from her office or from an official. Reuters says examination is not finished. The legal effect on a voice clone remains what Italian media told Reuters: approval would not, by itself, stop the use.