Actor Matthew McConaughey has locked down legal protection on his most famous catchphrase, securing eight trademarks including a sound mark on his iconic "Alright, alright, alright" line from the 1993 comedy "Dazed and Confused,” even as Hollywood continues to wrestle with how far artificial intelligence should be allowed to go.
The trademark registration specifies the exact pitch variations: "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."
By securing federal trademarks, McConaughey gains standing to sue in federal courts and potentially deter unauthorized AI-generated content featuring his voice or likeness, even when it's not explicitly commercial.
The eight trademarks, registered to McConaughey's J.K. Livin Brands Inc., parent company of his Just Keep Livin apparel business, also include video clips of the actor and audio of him saying "Just keep livin', right?" followed by "I mean."
"I don't know what a court will say in the end. But we have to at least test this," noted Kevin Yorn, partner at Yorn Levine, whose firm represents entertainment industry luminaries including Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Saldaña, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and others.
Broader industry reckoningThe trademark move is complicated by McConaughey’s own embrace of AI, on licensed terms.
The settlement ended litigation filed last June when Warner joined Sony Music Entertainment and UMG Recordings in accusing Udio and competitor Suno of mass copyright infringement for allegedly training AI models on copyrighted recordings without permission.
McConaughey’s message appears to land somewhere in between. Unauthorized AI? Not alright. Licensed, consent-based use? That’s a different conversation.
Decrypt has reached out to J.K. Livin Brands Inc. for comment.
