Lionel Richie Files Voice Trademark to Guard Against AI Deepfake Clones

Executive Briefing

• Files four US trademark applications covering iconic phrases from Hello, Easy, Say You Say Me, and All Night Long
• Joins Taylor Swift and Matthew McConaughey in a growing celebrity push to legally protect AI-replicated voices
• Trademark protection faces limits, as filings would not prevent AI from using his voice to say different words
• Highlights rising industry alarm after a fake Drake-Weeknd AI track surpassed 250,000 streams before removal
• Sony Music has already requested removal of over 135,000 AI-generated impersonator tracks from streaming platforms