What is EUIPO, the European office where Meloni has registered her voice (yes, Vannacci is involved too)

“Io sono Giorgia Meloni.” The Prime Minister has dusted off her catchphrase (which is also the title of her autobiography) to protect herself from deepfakes. She did so by submitting an audio recording in which she repeats this phrase to EUIPO, the European Union Intellectual Property Office. With this move, first reported by the Repubblica website, she has decided to protect herself against instances of voice cloning using generative artificial intelligence systems. The Prime Minister has followed the example of Giusy Ferreri, who last May became the first artist in Europe to register her voice as a sound mark with EUIPO. 

As can be seen on the EUIPO website, the application – submitted by the Prime Minister via a Rome-based law firm and a company from the Marche region specialising in intellectual property protection – is ‘under examination’. The registration relates to three types of services, which include downloadable multimedia content, cultural activities and the organisation of political events. The Prime Minister has previously shown sensitivity to the issue of AI: in July, for example, she agreed to a pledge to “not use artificial intelligence to attribute fabricated words or facts to opponents”, presented to Il Foglio by PD leader Elly Schlein. The appeal to EUIPO marks a further step forward in protecting sensitive personal data against risks associated with AI, although this is not the first time we have heard of this institution. 

As mentioned at the beginning, EUIPO is the European Union Intellectual Property Office, responsible for managing European Union trade marks, registered European Union designs and EU geographical indications for artisanal and industrial products. It also comprises an internal observatory, through which it “aims to raise public awareness, deliver training courses, develop systems and provide evidence-based data on the protection of intellectual property and the enforcement of related rights”. It is also responsible for creating and managing the EU database of orphan works (i.e. works still protected by copyright) and the single online portal, accessible to the public, for out-of-commerce works. The Office also has Boards of Appeal before which any decision unfavourable to a party involved in proceedings may be appealed.

Even before Meloni, there had been talk of Euipo (also) in connection with Roberto Vannacci. Last February, the Office received a notice of opposition from the Associazione Nazione Futura, a conservative think tank run by the journalist Francesco Giubilei. The association highlighted “the high risk of confusion and similarity” between the name and symbol of General Meloni’s “Futuro Nazionale” party and, precisely, those of “Nazione Futura”, as well as the need to protect an already established prior right. According to Nazione Futura, as stated in a press release, “the actual and continuous use of its own name and distinctive sign constitutes a valid ground for preventing the registration of a substantially identical trade mark, particularly where the areas of activity overlap”. On 22 September, the EU Office accepted the opposition filed by Giubilei, thus marking the start of the adversarial phase of the proceedings. “Vannacci should change his party’s name and acknowledge that the true right wing is that of the conservatives,” the association commented following the news.