Italy’s prime minister submitted a voice-trademark application to the EU intellectual-property office, seeking another legal tool against AI-generated impersonations.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has applied to register her voice as a trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, according to records cited by the Associated Press on October 5. The filing includes a four-second recording of Meloni saying “Io sono Giorgia Meloni” (“I am Giorgia Meloni”). The application was confirmed by an Italian official, while the initial report came from Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
The filing seeks protection against AI-generated voice deepfakes, but it is an application, not an approved trademark. And approval would not automatically prevent people from generating imitations. Italian media have reported that registration could instead give Meloni an additional legal avenue to challenge unauthorized uses of her voice.
The move follows repeated circulation of manipulated images depicting Meloni, some presented online as authentic. She has previously urged people to verify material before sharing it and said deepfakes can harm anyone. In May, after fake images appeared online, she said that while she could defend herself, many others could not.
The application adds a prominent political figure’s voice to the growing debate over how existing legal rights can address synthetic media. A trademark claim may help in some disputes over commercial or unauthorized use, but it is not a general technical barrier to cloning. Meloni also has a separate legal case, launched in 2024, against a man accused of creating and posting deepfake pornographic images using her likeness; the case remains pending in an Italian court.
For now, the filing’s status and any legal effect depend on the EU office’s review and the scope of protection it may grant. The application does not itself establish a new EU-wide rule for voice cloning or resolve how deepfake claims will be handled in other cases.