The catchphrase that launched Matthew McConaughey’s career in 1993’s “Dazed and Confused” now has formal USPTO protection. But the eight trademarks his attorneys secured in December 2025 weren’t filed to sell merchandise or license movie clips. They were filed to sue anyone who uses AI to fake his voice.
Eight Trademarks to Fight One Threat
McConaughey’s legal team at Yorn Levine applied for trademark protection in December 2023 and received USPTO approval two years later in December 2025. The registrations went to J.K. Livin Brands Inc., a Sherman Oaks, California company that serves as the parent of McConaughey’s Just Keep Livin apparel business.
The portfolio includes a sound mark on the actor saying “Alright, alright, alright.” The USPTO filing describes it with unusual specificity: “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.” That phonetic precision isn’t accidental; it establishes exactly what constitutes the protected mark.
Three additional registrations cover video clips: a 7-second video of McConaughey standing on a porch, a 3-second video of him sitting in front of a Christmas tree, and audio of him saying “Just keep livin’, right? I mean, what are we gonna do?”
Attorney Jonathan Pollack explained the strategy bluntly: “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.”
McConaughey framed the goal in ownership terms: “We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.” The trademarks transform his persona from something protected by varying state laws into federally enforceable intellectual property.
How Sound Marks Create Courtroom Standing
Sound marks remain one of the least utilized categories of trademark protection, but they offer something state-level right of publicity claims cannot: nationwide federal court jurisdiction with injunctive power.
The USPTO recognizes sounds as trademarks when they “function as source indicators” and “create in the hearer’s mind an association of the sound with a good or service.” Two requirements determine whether a sound qualifies. First, it must be distinctive, meaning the sound has acquired meaning that connects it to a specific source rather than being generic. Second, it cannot be functional, meaning the sound isn’t essential to the product’s use and doesn’t affect its cost or quality.
McConaughey’s catchphrase satisfies both tests. The phrase “alright, alright, alright” has no inherent connection to apparel, entertainment services, or any commercial goods. It acquired distinctiveness through decades of public association with one person. The documented pitch pattern in the filing establishes the specific version being protected, not just the words themselves.
Filing for federal trademark registration creates protection that right of publicity claims struggle to match. Publicity rights exist under state law, and coverage varies dramatically, with California offering broad protection while other states provide minimal safeguards. A federal trademark registration eliminates that patchwork problem.
The strategy has precedent. NBC registered its three-note chime sequence in 1978 as the first recognized sound mark. Intel’s five-note audio logo, MGM’s lion roar, THX’s “deep note,” and even Homer Simpson’s “D’OH!” all hold USPTO registrations. Pitbull registered his signature falsetto yell, described in the filing as “a man yelling ‘EEEEEEEYOOOOOO’ in falsetto.” Each registration converts a distinctive sound into property that can be defended in federal court.
Not every attempt succeeds. Harley-Davidson spent years trying to trademark the V-twin motorcycle engine sound before withdrawing the application after competitors argued the sound was functional and not unique to Harley. The lesson: distinctiveness and non-functionality aren’t assumptions but requirements that demand proof.
The AI Voice Cloning Arms Race
The technology that makes McConaughey’s trademarks necessary has already matured into a commercial industry. ElevenLabs, valued at approximately $6.6 billion, operates a voice cloning platform that can replicate human speech with startling accuracy. McConaughey isn’t fighting from the outside; he’s an investor in the company and partnered with them to create an AI-generated Spanish version of his voice for his newsletter.
That paradox reveals the real calculus: AI voice synthesis isn’t going away, so the question is whether performers control how their voices get used or scramble to respond after unauthorized clones appear. ElevenLabs launched an “Iconic Voice Marketplace” that licenses AI-replicated celebrity voices through consent-based agreements, with Michael Caine and others participating. The model works only when voice ownership is clear.
Regulatory protection is emerging but uneven. Tennessee and California have passed laws specifically protecting voice rights from unauthorized AI replication, and the European Union now requires labels on synthetic media. But legislation moves slower than technology, and a voice clone can go viral while lawmakers are still debating definitions.
Trademark registration fills the gap because it creates immediate enforceable rights. When McConaughey’s attorneys file an infringement lawsuit, they won’t need to argue about whether California publicity law applies to a server in Texas hosting AI-generated content. They’ll invoke federal trademark law and seek injunctions that apply nationwide.
The celebrities adopting this strategy aren’t technophobes; they’re establishing ownership terms before the default becomes free appropriation. ElevenLabs itself blocks cloning of certain high-risk voices and requires verification for professional voice cloning tools. Even AI companies need clear signals about who controls what, and trademark registrations provide that clarity.
Building Trademark Defenses Before You Need Them
McConaughey filed in December 2023, and his registrations issued in December 2025. That two-year gap illustrates why trademark protection requires forward thinking. The timeline that can take up to 18 months or longer means filing after AI misuse appears puts you years behind the problem.
The first step is identifying what distinctive elements your brand actually has. Catchphrases work if they’ve acquired association with you specifically, and audio logos, jingles, and signature sounds qualify if they meet the distinctiveness test. Even delivery patterns can be documented, as McConaughey’s pitch description demonstrates.
Before filing, a thorough trademark search reveals whether your proposed mark conflicts with existing registrations. Sound mark searches require different methodology than word mark searches because you’re looking for phonetically similar registrations, not just identical phrases.
Documentation requirements for sound marks exceed those for traditional marks. The USPTO requires an audio file submission and a detailed written description that captures the mark’s unique characteristics, and vague descriptions invite rejection. The more precisely you can articulate what makes your sound distinctive, the stronger your application.
Portfolio strategy matters as much as individual filings. McConaughey didn’t register one trademark; he registered eight, covering his catchphrase, video clips, and additional audio. Each registration creates an independent enforcement right, so if one mark faces a challenge, seven others remain intact. That layered approach provides redundancy that single-mark strategies lack.
Waiting until someone misuses your voice or catchphrase shifts you into reactive mode. You’ll seek takedowns through platform policies instead of federal court orders. You’ll argue about state publicity laws instead of asserting registered trademark rights. The legal tools available after infringement are weaker than the tools available before it happens.
Protect Your Brand Voice
McConaughey invested two years and significant legal resources to build federal protection before AI-generated fakes of his voice could proliferate. That timeline wasn’t a bureaucratic inconvenience but a window during which anyone could have complicated his registrations by filing competing claims or flooding the market with confusing uses. Every day without trademark protection is a day your distinctive brand elements remain vulnerable to competitors, AI generators, or bad actors looking to capitalize on what you’ve built.
When I work with clients on protecting distinctive brand elements, we start by identifying what actually makes their brand voice unique. Not everything qualifies for trademark protection, but more elements may qualify than most business owners realize. The process includes clearance searches to confirm your marks don’t conflict with existing registrations, filing strategy that positions your applications for approval, and documentation that captures exactly what makes your sound or phrase distinctive. Whether you’re protecting a catchphrase that’s become associated with your business, an audio logo that opens your content, or a delivery style that audiences recognize instantly, the goal is creating enforceable rights before you need to enforce them.
If your brand has distinctive elements that could be cloned, copied, or misused, now is the time to evaluate your protection options. The AI tools capable of replicating voices and personas are already commercial products. The question isn’t whether this technology will affect your brand. The question is whether you’ll have federal court standing when it does. Contact me for a consultation to discuss how trademark registration can protect what makes your brand recognizable.
