Matthew McConaughey trademarks catchphrase ‘Alright, alright, alright’ in AI battle

Actor Matthew McConaughey has drawn a line in the sand in the fight against artificial intelligence.

He is trademarking several clips that have added to his popularity, The Wall Street Journal was first to report.

Included is a seven-second clip of the “Magic Mike” actor standing on a porch, a three-second clip of him sitting in front of a Christmas tree and of course, his “Alright, alright, alright” line from 1993’s “Dazed and Confused.”

He has had eight applications approved so far by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the newspaper said.

The famous film quote’s application was filed in December 2023 and was approved last month, People magazine reported.

According to the USPTO, the trademark covers the specific “Alright” phrase, which “consists of a man saying ‘ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT’, wherein the first syllable of the first two words is at a lower pitch than the second syllable, and the first syllable of the last word is at a higher pitch than the second syllable.”

“My team and I want to know that when my voice or likeness is ever used, it’s because I approved and signed off on it,” McConaughey said in an email. “We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.”

His attorneys said they are not aware of his likeness being used by AI without his permission, but that the trademarks can be a protection against unauthorized duplications.

“In a world where we’re watching everybody scramble to figure out what to do about AI misuse, we have a tool now to stop someone in their tracks or take them to federal court,” his attorney, Jonathan Pollack, said.

He is not fully shunning AI, however.

Variety reported that he has teamed with ElevenLabs to create a version of his newsletter “Lyrics of Living” in Spanish using a likeness of his voice. He has also invested in the company.

McConaughey is not the only celebrity who has concerns over their likeness being used by AI.

Tom Hanks warned fans on Instagram in August 2024 not to be “fooled” by ads using his likeness without permission. An AI-generated clip of Taylor Swift went viral. The video called “Taylor Swift Protects Fan from Hateful Comments” had a notation that read it used an “AI-generated voice used for storytelling inspired by Taylor Swift’s tone. This video is a creative work and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Taylor Swift,” People magazine reported.

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