Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey has trademarked his image and voice – including his famous catchphrase from the film Dazed and Confused: “All right, all right, all right” – in an effort to stop the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence.
The Wall Street Journal reported McConaughey has had eight separate applications approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in recent weeks, including a film clip of the actor standing on a porch and sitting in front of a tree and an audio clip of him saying: “Okay, okay, okay.”
In a statement, the actor said, “My team and I want it to be known that whenever my voice or likeness is used, it is because I have approved and signed off on it. We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution in the AI world.”
AI-generated images of performers have become a major issue in the entertainment industry, with complaints of unauthorized use dating back to at least 2023, when Tom Hanks warned fans that his likeness was appearing in a dental-plan advertisement without his cooperation or permission.
The recent widespread use of digital body scans has raised concerns over how the data will be used, with actor Olivia Williams calling for a “nudity rider” to prevent unfair exploitation. The current outrage over the way
Along with fellow actor Michael Caine, McConaughey recently signed a deal with AI audio company ElevenLabs to create an AI-generated version of his voice on the Spanish-language translation of his newsletter Lyrics of Livin’. McConaughey is also an investor in ElevenLabs, which is valued at about $6.6 billion.
McConaughey’s legal team says they do not have any specific complaints involving the actor, but aim to establish more general protections. Jonathan Pollack, one of McConaughey’s lawyers, said: “In a world where we’re seeing everyone struggling to figure out what to do about misuse of AI, we now have a tool to stop someone or take them to federal court.”
