Disclaimer: This article is based on actual news from the real world – honestly! However, it has been sprinkled with a healthy dose of satire.
Remember Dazed And Confused? The classic 1993 film was about a group of teens hanging out on the last day of high school in the ‘70s. If it were made today, it’d be about a bunch of kids on their last day of school in 2009. Feel old yet? We sure do, even though in the movie, they all stay the same age. Matthew McConaughey, who played an older guy in the film, uttered a variant of that phrase, as well as the three-word phrase he’s become famous for, “alright, alright, alright.” You know what he’s not alright with? That phrase being used by AI, and he’s got successful trademarks to prove it.
You'll be dazed and then sued if you try using his likeness. (jklivinfoundation.org)
Imagine if, after wrapping a scene, someone took McConaughey aside and said. “That was a really good take. Probably good enough that in about 30 years, computer versions of you might be saying it, trying to pass themselves off as you.” He probably would’ve responded with “this is a slice of life coming of age flick about small town Texas, not Blade Runner” or more accurately, “what the hell are you talking about?” Yet here we are, and his legal team has successfully filed eight trademarks. They actually started back in December of 2023, filing them with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and they were just approved last month.
McConaughey, and most likely not an AI version of him, gave a statement to the Wall Street Journal stating, “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. We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership, with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.”
And it wasn’t just McConaughey’s “alright x3” that was trademarked. Another phrase from Dazed & Confused, “You gotta just keep livin’,” also got the nod, and it’s even the name of a foundation he and his wife started. So if you were looking to start a foundation named after a movie quote, you’re going to have to find another one. Also trademarked are a 7-second video clip of the actor standing on a porch and a 3-second clip of him sitting in front of a Christmas tree.
I guess if you like shirts, this one is alright. Alright. Alright. (jklivinfoundation.org)
While most state rights allow actors to prevent their images and likenesses from being used to sell products, this trademark will allow McConaughey’s team to sue in federal court if necessary. It’s fine for his own company to capitalize on his catchphrases. Capitalizing is what it’s called when you sell caps for money, right? Regardless, the moral of the story is that if a familiar-looking actor is trying to sell you Matthew McConaughamburgers or a McConaughey-branded flashlight flashlight flashlight, you’ll be seeing that entity in court because his people will just keep litigatin’.
This story is based on fully factual news, but if we got it wrong, blame these guys, we’re just here to make it funny.
