Giorgia Meloni files to trademark her voice against AI deepfakes

Her four-second sound mark repeats a line from a 2019 rally. The FT says she is the first major politician known to seek to trademark her voice, a year before Italy votes.


Giorgia Meloni in a white blazer speaking at a podium between two microphones, with EU and Italian flags behind her

Giorgia Meloni speaks at the Italy-Japan summit in Tokyo, 16 January 2026.

Image Credits Credit: Cabinet Public Affairs Office of Japan / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has applied to trademark her voice at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The EUIPO record lists a sound mark filed on 5 October in her own name, as an individual, through the Italian firm Praxi Intellectual Property. As of 9 October, the application was still under examination.

The mark is a four-second recording in which Meloni says “Io sono Giorgia Meloni” (“I am Giorgia Meloni”) twice. Her office confirmed the filing, Reuters reported, describing it as a move to protect herself against AI-generated deepfakes.

The application covers three classes of goods and services. They include downloadable multimedia files and recordings, and publishing books, newspapers and magazines. They also cover organising conferences, cultural events and live entertainment, and organising political rallies.

Where the phrase comes from

“Io sono Giorgia” is a line from a 2019 rally speech that was later turned into a disco track. Meloni used it as the title of her autobiography in 2021, Reuters reported.

In 2024, she brought a civil case against a man from Sardinia accused of making and posting deepfake pornographic images of her. The case is still pending, according to Reuters.

In May this year, manipulated images of Meloni circulated online, including one showing her in her underwear. In a Facebook post, she warned that deepfakes can deceive and manipulate anyone, and wrote:

“I can defend myself. Many others cannot.”
Giorgia Meloni, on Facebook, May 2026

The filing and the election

Entertainers including Taylor Swift and the Italian singer Giusy Ferreri have applied to trademark their voices. Meloni is the first major politician known to do so, according to the Financial Times.

Italy holds a general election next year. Deepfake videos that falsely show Meloni promoting investment schemes have circulated on Italian social media, the FT reported. Clones of her voice have also appeared in political adverts urging voters to remove her.

Even if the EUIPO approves it, the trademark would not by itself stop anyone using her voice in deepfakes, Reuters reported, citing Italian media. It could create further legal obstacles for anyone trying to copy it.

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