Trademarking Likeness to Block Deepfakes

Celebrities and public figures will increasingly use trademark filings (for catchphrases, gestures, short clips) as a proactive legal tool to deter generative‑AI impersonations and monetize or restrict downstream synthetic uses. Trademark law is being repurposed as a pragmatic, jurisdiction‑specific inoculation where broader copyright or data‑rights regimes are insufficient or slow. — If adopted widely, trademarking short‑form likeness elements will reshape IP strategy, the economics of synthetic media, and who can reasonably claim rights over ephemeral audiovisual content in the AI era.