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Lionel Richie Files To Trademark His Voice & Choruses Of Hit Singles

Mary Varvaris

Lionel Richie has filed a trademark to protect his voice, two months after Taylor Swift did the same.

Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie(Credit: Supplied)
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American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie has filed for trademarks to protect the sound of his voice, including his well-known song lyric, “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?”

Billboard reports that the disco and pop ballad hitmaker filed four applications at the US Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday (11 June). He’s looking to cover sound recordings of his voice singing the choruses to multiple classic songs, which, in addition to Hello, include All Night Long (All Night), Easy, and Say You, Say Me.

The publication also notes that Richie may face difficulties in obtaining a trademark. To obtain federal registration in the US, the onus is on Richie and his team to prove that consumers are seeking to use his voice to recite specific lyrics with goods and services.

Meanwhile, trademark law in the US typically covers brand names, logos, and other symbols that represent a particular product. It doesn’t cover blanket protection to a person’s identity and wouldn’t, for example, protect Richie’s voice from someone using his voice to say something else.

Despite the difficulties of obtaining a trademark without promoting a business, it hasn’t stopped other artists from filing. In April, Taylor Swift filed to trademark her voice and likeness to protect her image and career in the age of AI and deep fakes.

Swift’s TAS Rights Management filed three trademark applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office, sharing two sound bites to protect her voice and a visual image associated with Swift.

The sound bites include the singer saying, “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor.” Meanwhile, the image shows Swift holding a pink guitar and performing in a “multi-coloured iridescent bodysuit with silver boots.”

Swift and Richie’s trademark filings arrive after actor Matthew McConaughey sought protection for his voice and likeness last year. Among the actor’s trademarks is a clip of his iconic catchphrase, “Alright, alright, alright!” from the film Dazed & Confused.

Since 2018, Lionel Richie has been a judge on American Idol. He was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, and he received the Icon Award at the American Music Awards. His most recent solo album, Tuskegee, was released in 2012.