It’s not often that Hollywood actors make news for intellectual property reasons. Recently, Matthew McConaughey made headlines after successfully registering a trademark. While traditional trademarks typically consist of words or images, nontraditional marks—such as color, sound, motion, scent, and tactile marks—are also protectable.

In McConaughey’s case, he successfully registered a sound mark for the improvised phrase “Alright, alright, alright” from the 1993 film Dazed and Confused. This trademark is registered as US Registration No. 8070191.

The mark—”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—was described in detail in the application. As sound marks lack visual depictions and are instead identified as “Sensory Marks” or “Non-visual Marks,” they require a particularly specific and detailed description of the sound.

Can you guess the sound mark below based on the following description?

The mark is a yell consisting of a series of approximately ten sounds, alternating between the chest and falsetto registers of the voice, as follows: (1) a semi-long sound in the chest register, (2) a short sound up an interval of one octave plus a fifth from the preceding sound, (3) a short sound down a major third from the preceding sound, (4) a short sound up a major third from the preceding sound, (5) a long sound down one octave plus a major third from the preceding sound, (6) a short sound up one octave from the preceding sound, (7) a short sound up a major third from the preceding sound, (8) a short sound down a major third from the preceding sound, (9) a short sound up a major third from the preceding sound, 1(0) a long sound down an octave plus a fifth from the preceding sound.

You’d be correct if you guessed the iconic Tarzan yell, which is registered as U.S. Registration No. 4462890.

McConaughey has stated that he intends to use his trademark as a tool to prevent AI misuse. With the rise of generative AI, realistic deepfakes are becoming increasingly convincing. An aggressive and innovative legal strategy, such as what McConaughey is pursuing, may be necessary to help preserve a personal brand. It should be noted that McConaughey is no stranger to AI. He owns a stake in ElevenLabs, an AI audio research and deployment company, and has publicly supported AI use when consent is given.

In practice, this legal strategy may be most effective as a notice mechanism. The threat of ending up in federal court may be enough of a deterrent to discourage bad actors from pushing their luck. McConaughey’s trademark itself may offer limited protection, as it is directed to very specific uses that are unlikely to overlap with malicious activity. Additionally, the mark could face judicial scrutiny, as the asserted use in commerce consists primarily of a personal website featuring a video clip of McConaughey repeating the iconic phrase alongside a listing of his acting, film, and television production credits.

Even if McConaughey’s trademark strategy is not the definitive answer to AI-related concerns, taking a proactive approach to protecting one’s rights in world of rapidly expanding, largely unrestricted generative AI may offer the best available protection. Only time will tell which strategies will ultimately prove most effective in the fight against AI misuse.