Matthew McConaughey's Trademark Strategy for AI Protection

by Thabiso Mutumhe

Actor Matthew McConaughey has successfully obtained many trademarks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect his voice and likeness from unauthorized artificial intelligence use.[1] This represents the first known attempt by an actor to employ trademark law specifically to combat AI misuse.[2]

Examples of some of the registered trademarks include:

A sound mark for the audio clip “alright, alright, alright” from the 1993 film Dazed and Confused[3]

A 7-second video clip of McConaughey standing on a porch.

A 3-second video clip of him sitting in front of a Christmas tree.

Audio of him saying “Just keep livin', right?” followed by pauses and “I mean” and “What are we gonna do?”[4]

The trademark application for “alright, alright, alright” was filed in December 2023 and approved in December 2025.[5]

LEGAL STRATEGY

All trademarks are registered to J.K. Livin Brands Inc., the commercial arm of McConaughey's Just Keep Livin Foundation.[6] His attorneys at Yorn Levine pursued this approach to provide federal court standing for potential litigation, supplementing existing state rights-of-publicity protections.[7] The strategy aims both to deter unauthorized AI-generated content and to “capture some of the value that is being created with this new technology.”[8]

McConaughey has stated his intent to “create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.”[9] Notably, he is not opposed to AI technology itself. He is an investor in ElevenLabs, an AI voice modeling company, and has authorized the creation of an AI version of his voice for approved projects.[10]

TRADEMARK REGISTRATIONS

Owner: J.K. Livin Brands, Inc.

Word Mark (ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT): 5373751

Sensory Mark (ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT): 8070191

Motion Mark: 7893248

The mark consists of the actor Matthew McConaughey with beige face, brown hair and facial hair, blue and white eyes, a black mouth, white teeth, and pink lips, wearing white and sliver glasses and a light blue button down shirt. He is sitting in his living room in front of a white, off-white, and black stone fireplace with gray stones in front of it, with green and white hanging lights, a green Christmas tree with white lights and red decorations and white tree skirt, white cabinets with silver handles, white shelves with a black tv screen and black and brown items on the shelves, a gray pillow on the floor, a side table in black with a white book on top, brown wooden floor, and brown sofa. The motion consists of the actor facing forward with his arms at his sides and head slightly tilted, with his mouth moving.  Next, his head slightly tilts to face directly forward, and he smiles. The duration of the motion is approximately 3 seconds.

Sound Mark: 7995858

The mark consists of a man saying "JUST KEEP LIVIN', RIGHT?" followed by a pause, "I MEAN" followed by another pause, and ending with "WHAT ELSE ARE WE GONNA DO?".

Motion mark: 7931810

The mark is a motion mark. The mark consists of the actor Matthew McConaughey with beige face and hands, brown hair and facial hair, white teeth, and black eyelashes, wearing a white button down shirt, silver necklace, silver watch, and silver rings. He is standing outdoors on a porch with brown wooden slats and a silver metal fence, with green trees and bushes, tan sand, white clouds, blue sea, and blue sky in the background. The motion consists of the actor standing and facing forward with his arms raised and palms open. Next, his arms open further wider. Then he glances to the side and places one hand on his hip and lowers the other hand out of the frame, with his body positioned at an angle, and turns his face forward. The duration of the motion is approximately 7 seconds.

References

[1] Cobbina Kerena , Matthew McConaughey Trademarks Iconic Phrase to Stop AI Misuse, BBC (Jan. 15, 2026), https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp87z6vexl3o.

[2] Id.

[3]  Todd Spangler, Matthew McConaughey Trademarks ‘Alright, Alright, Alright!’ And Other IP as Legal Protections Against ‘AI Misuse,’ Variety (Jan. 14, 2026), https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/matthew-mcconaughey-trademarks-alright-alright-alright-ai-misuse-1236631214/.;

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] See Kerena, supra note 1.

[8] See Kerena, supra note 1; Spangler, supra note 2.

[9] See Kerena, supra note 1; Scott Simon, Matthew McConaughey Trademarks His Catchphrase in a Bid to Beat AI Fakes, NPR, Jan. 17, 2026, https://www.npr.org/2026/01/17/nx-s1-5680266/matthew-mcconaughey-trademarks-his-catchphrase-in-a-bid-to-beat-ai-fakes.

[10] Simon, supra note 9.