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.
BeauHD
2026.09.29
90% relevant
AB 2409 uses statutory restrictions on commercial uses of officials' images in the crypto context, directly paralleling the idea of using intellectual/property or likeness rules to police synthetic/derivative uses (e.g., deepfakes); the bill's prohibition on memecoins that use a public official's likeness is the same policy logic applied to token markets.
PW Daily
2026.01.15
100% relevant
Matthew McConaughey’s recent filings to trademark film clips and his smile, as reported in the article, illustrate this newly visible legal tactic.
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