Legendary singer-songwriter Lionel Richie has filed four new trademark applications aimed at protecting the sound of his voice.
The filings by Richie join a growing group of celebrities seeking trademark protection to protect their voices in the age of artificial intelligence.
The applications seek protection for audio recordings of Richie saying four famous phrases associated with his songs:
The filings reflect an emerging trend among entertainers seeking new ways to control how their voices and likenesses are used as AI-generated content becomes increasingly sophisticated.
Taylor Swift, Matthew McConaughey, and Jimmy Kimmel made similar filings so far this year.
Unlike copyright law, which protects songs and lyrics as creative works, trademark law protects brands.
As a result, historically, artists have not sought trademark protection for lyrics simply because a song lyric by itself is not protectable as a trademark.
To register a sound (in this case, a lyric) as a trademark, the law requires that a sound function as a “source identifier.” This means that consumers would associate the sound with a particular product or service. One common example is the distinctive “tu-dum” sound used by Netflix when users launch the streaming platform.
At the moment, it is unclear how Richie plans to use these sounds as trademarks. This is because his trademark applications were filed on an intent-to-use basis, meaning he is not yet using the phrases as trademarks in commerce.
The applications that Richie filed indicate that the sounds will eventually be used in connection with providing music and entertainment information, videos, and news about a musical artist.
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