Matthew McConaughey Trademarks Voice to Fight AI Misuse

Matthew McConaughey is making sure no one copies his iconic voice without permission.

The Dallas Buyers Club star just trademarked his image, voice, and famous "alright, alright, alright" catchphrase with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He's the first actor ever to use trademark law this way to protect himself from AI misuse, according to legal experts.

It's a smart move in a world where AI can clone anyone's voice or face in seconds. Stars like Scarlett Johansson and Taylor Swift have already dealt with fake videos and audio created without their consent.

McConaughey's lawyers say they haven't found AI copies of him yet. But they're getting ahead of the problem before it starts.

"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 told the Wall Street Journal. "We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world."

The trademarks were registered through his Just Keep Livin Foundation, the nonprofit he runs with his wife Camila. His legal team hopes the protection can be used broadly against any unauthorized copies.

There's a financial angle too. Lawyer Kevin Yorn told AFP they want to "capture some of the value that is being created with this new technology."

The Ripple Effect

This move could change everything for artists trying to protect their work. Alina Trapova, who teaches copyright law at University College London, confirmed this is the first time an actor has tried this approach.

She told the BBC that celebrities face "more and more challenging" unauthorized use of their likeness through deepfakes. For Hollywood stars, it often means "missed licensing opportunities" when AI companies profit from their voices without permission.

Dr. Sandra Wachter, a professor at Oxford University, expects more artists to follow McConaughey's lead. "It is simple for companies to take your work and train a model to do your job," she explained. "It is comparatively difficult for you to protect your work in the first place."

McConaughey isn't against AI entirely. He's actually an investor in ElevenLabs, an AI voice company that created an authorized digital version of his voice with his full permission.

His approach shows a path forward: artists can embrace new technology while still controlling how their identity gets used. Disney and Universal are taking similar stands, suing AI firm Midjourney last year over image generation they called a "bottomless pit of plagiarism."

McConaughey's trademarks prove that protecting yourself doesn't mean rejecting progress. It means making sure progress respects the people it affects.