&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Io sono Giorgia Meloni’: Italy’s Meloni seeks legal protection for her voice against AI-generated deepfakes")
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has applied to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to trademark her voice. The move, as per reports, is aimed at giving her greater legal protection against AI-generated deepfakes and unauthorised voice cloning. The application, filed on October 5 and confirmed by Meloni's office, includes a four-second audio recording in which she repeats the phrase “Io sono Giorgia Meloni” (“I am Giorgia Meloni”) twice. The application remains under examination.
Notably, the phrase 'I am Giorgia Meloni' is closely associated with Meloni. She used it at a 2019 political rally, and “Io sono Giorgia” later became the title of her 2021 autobiography. The Indian edition’s foreword (preface) was written by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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What would a voice trademark do?
The filing does not mean Meloni's voice itself would become impossible to reproduce using AI. However, if approved, the registration could instead provide an additional legal tool for challenging unauthorised commercial uses of the distinctive audio mark in the areas covered by the application. Italian media reported that it would not automatically block AI systems from generating an imitation of her voice.
The application covers areas including downloadable multimedia content, cultural activities and the organisation of political events, according to Italian reports based on the EUIPO filing.
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The move comes as AI voice-cloning technology has made it increasingly easy to create audio in which public figures appear to say things they never actually said.
Meloni has previously warned about the dangers of deepfakes, saying they can “deceive, manipulate and harm anyone”. After fake images of her circulated online, she said in May that while she could defend herself, “many others cannot”.
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Meloni and deepfakes
Manipulated images of the Italian prime minister have circulated repeatedly, including sexually explicit material falsely depicting her.
In 2024, Meloni launched a civil case against a Sardinian man accused of creating and distributing deepfake pornographic images using her face. The case remains pending before an Italian court.
Her latest move follows similar efforts by entertainers to protect distinctive voices and other elements of their identities from unauthorised digital reproduction.
Other figures who have copyrighted their voices
Singer Giusy Ferreri has also registered a voice mark, while Italian voice actor Luca Ward has sought trademark protection for his distinctive voice.
Internationally, celebrities including Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson have faced controversies involving AI-generated replicas of their likenesses or voices. Johansson objected to an OpenAI voice that she said sounded similar to her own after declining to participate in the project. OpenAI denied intentionally copying her voice and later withdrew the feature.
In Japan, a recent court ruling also recognised legal protection for a human voice in a case involving an anime voice actor who sought action over an AI-generated clone of his voice.
