Italian PM Meloni files to trademark her voice against deepfakes

By Splitfeed EditorialLast updated Oct 6, 2026, 11:40 UTC

On October 5, 2026, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni filed an application to trademark her voice at the European Union level, with the explicit aim of preventing AI-generated deepfakes from impersonating her. Reports from Reuters and AP News note that Meloni is following a strategy already attempted by pop stars who have sought similar voice protections as AI cloning tools have become more capable. No further details about the specific scope of the application, such as which categories of use it covers or which EU body is handling the filing, have been provided in the available reports.

The filing matters because it tests whether existing EU intellectual property law can be stretched to cover something as inherently biological and non-commercial as a human voice. Trademark law was built around protecting brands and commercial identifiers, and it is genuinely contested whether a politician's speaking voice qualifies under those frameworks. The fact that Meloni is a sitting head of government rather than a pop star adds another layer of complexity, since her voice is also a vehicle of democratic communication, not just a personal asset. If the application succeeds, it could set a precedent that other politicians and public figures across the EU quickly follow, effectively outsourcing identity protection to intellectual property registries.

None of the three camps have published reactions to this story yet. Pro-AI commentators would typically argue that voice-cloning technology is neutral and that legal overreach risks chilling legitimate creative and satirical uses of public figures' likenesses. Anti-AI voices would likely welcome the filing as a rare case of a powerful institution pushing back against an AI capability that poses clear risks to political integrity and personal rights. Those in the middle ground would probably note that trademarking is an imperfect and unequal remedy, available only to those with resources to file and enforce, and would call for broader legislative solutions such as the EU AI Act's existing deepfake disclosure requirements.

The key thing to watch is how the EU Intellectual Property Office rules on the application and on what timeline, since an acceptance or rejection would either validate or close off this legal strategy for other public figures considering the same move.