Backstreet Boys Trademark Their Voices, Joining Taylor Swift and Others Battling AI Deepfakes

The '90s icons are the latest music stars to turn to federal trademark law for lack of better options to fight AI-powered voice cloning.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 12: (L-R) Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys perform during The One Party by Uber: New York City at Pier 36 on June 12, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Uber)

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Backstreet Boys are moving to trademark the sound of their voices, joining Taylor Swift and a growing chorus of music stars trying to protect themselves from voice cloning and AI deepfakes.

In a filing Wednesday (June 24) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the iconic boy band applied for a trademark registration on an audio clip of the band saying “Hi, we’re the Backstreet Boys.”