Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has applied to the EU Intellectual Property Office to register her voice as a trademark, a move meant to give her legal footing against unauthorised AI deepfakes. The filing is dated 5 October 2026, and her office confirmed it after it appeared on the agency's website.
“I can defend myself, but many others cannot”
Giorgia Meloni, Italian prime minister, on deepfake images of her · theepochtimes.com ↗
The mark is a four-second recording of her saying "Io sono Giorgia Meloni" in Italian, a phrase from a 2019 rally speech and her 2021 autobiography's title. It is listed as under examination and covers downloadable multimedia content, cultural activities and political events. The Rome firm MpmLegal filed it.
If granted, protection would apply in all 27 EU states and let her demand takedowns and damages; in Italy, counterfeiting a trademark is also a crime. Italian media note that approval alone would not stop voice cloning but would add legal obstacles. The agency must finish its examination before anything takes effect.
Meloni argues that she can look after herself while many others cannot, and that deepfakes can deceive and harm anyone. She is already pursuing a 2024 civil case, still pending, against a man accused of making deepfake pornographic images with her face.
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