Behind every headline is a deeper truth, and with Taylor Swift the deeper truth is a stack of USPTO filings.
On September 7, 2026, the USPTO accepted the Section 8 declaration and acknowledged the Section 15 declaration for her company's SWIFTIE registration. And since April 24, 2026, the same company, TAS Rights Management, LLC, has had applications pending to register two short spoken phrases as sound marks. AP reports the clips are Swift herself, saying her name.
I pulled the records. Here's what to copy.
Takeaway #1: She's applying to register how she says her name
FROM THE USPTO RECORD
"The mark consists of the spoken words HEY, IT'S TAYLOR SWIFT."
What it means for you. This is a sound mark ("6 - NO DRAWING-SENSORY MARK," in USPTO-speak). A twin application (Serial No. 99784979) covers "HEY, IT'S TAYLOR," and a third (Serial No. 99784977) covers a photograph of her "holding a pink guitar." All three are in Class 41 (entertainment), all three were filed based on use that's already happening, not intent to use, and as of October 8 all three are still waiting for an examining attorney.
Each record carries the same line: the name or portrait "identifies a living individual whose consent to register is made of record." That isn't decoration. Lanham Act §2(c) bars registering a mark that "[c]onsists of or comprises a name, portrait, or signature identifying a particular living individual except by his written consent."
Trademark lawyer Josh Gerben, who first spotted the filings, called them "specifically designed to protect Taylor from threats posed by artificial intelligence," as the AP reported. Maybe. What the record shows for sure is narrower: a spoken phrase used as a brand for specific entertainment services. That's not a general right to a voice.
Your move. If your name is your brand, hold the marks in your company and sign the written consent so the company can register them. If you have a real sign-on line ("Hey, it's ___") that fans hear as you, talk to a trademark lawyer about whether it works as a brand.
Takeaway #2: Her company filed for the fan name before using it
FROM THE USPTO RECORD
Application Filing Date: Feb. 16, 2017 · Filed ITU: Yes · First Use: Jun. 03, 2020 · Registration Number: 6108226 · Registration Date: Jul. 21, 2020 · Status: "A Sections 8 and 15 combined declaration has been accepted and acknowledged." · Status Date: Sep. 07, 2026
What it means for you. Look at the dates. It was filed intent-to-use ("Filed ITU: Yes") more than three years before first use. The Lanham Act lets you file when you have "a bona fide intention" to use a mark in commerce, so you can claim the fan name before the merch exists. Just know the clock: after the USPTO allows an intent-to-use application, you get six months to show use, plus extensions, and three years total, tops. Her company used every one of them.
The September filing matters too. The USPTO doesn't rule on incontestability; it just acknowledges the Section 15 paperwork. The statute does the work. Under 15 U.S.C. §1065, once a mark has been in "continuous use for five consecutive years" after registration, and the owner files the affidavit, the right to use it for those services "shall be incontestable," subject to exceptions. Much harder to knock out.
She's still doing it. A newer SWIFTIE application (Serial No. 99224307, filed Jun. 9, 2025) covers "Guitar picks; Guitars; Musical instruments" plus a long Class 21 list, from mugs and plates to hairbrushes and makeup brushes. It got a first extension to show use on Jun. 26, 2026.
And her company polices the name. In 2017 it opposed a Dutch company's application for SWIFTY (TTAB Opposition No. 91235576). After a notice of default, the Board marked the opposition "SUSTAINED." That's a win by default, not a ruling on the merits, but the SWIFTY application is dead.
Your move. File for your fan-community name and main catchphrase on an intent-to-use basis before the drop, in the classes you'll actually sell in. Then watch for look-alikes, because a registration you never enforce is just paperwork.
And always remember, don't sign it till you read it, my friends.
General information, not legal advice. Reading this doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Trademark rights depend on actual use and the classes you file in, so get advice before you file.
Sources
- USPTO TSDR, Serial No. 99784980 (HEY, IT'S TAYLOR SWIFT sound mark)
- USPTO TSDR, Serial No. 99784979 (HEY, IT'S TAYLOR sound mark)
- USPTO TSDR, Serial No. 99784977 (photograph mark)
- USPTO TSDR, Serial No. 87339027 / Reg. No. 6108226 (SWIFTIE, Class 41)
- USPTO TSDR, Serial No. 99224307 (SWIFTIE, Classes 15 and 21)
- USPTO TTABVUE, Opposition No. 91235576 (TAS Rights Management v. Long Term Results B.V., SWIFTY)
- 15 U.S.C. §1052 (Lanham Act §2), Office of the Law Revision Counsel
- 15 U.S.C. §1065 (incontestability), Office of the Law Revision Counsel
- 15 U.S.C. §1051 (application; intent to use), Office of the Law Revision Counsel
- The Associated Press (Maria Sherman), Taylor Swift files 3 new trademark applications. One expert says it is to curb AI threats (Apr 28, 2026)
