Taylor Swift and Matthew McConaughey File Trademarks for Voice and Likeness

Actor Matthew McConaughey has obtained trademark registrations from the United States Trademark Office that cover his image, voice and well-known catchphrases such as “Alright, Alright, Alright,” according to a report published May 8, 2026. Forbes reported that the filings signal an effort by some high-profile individuals to use trademark law against unauthorized generative AI content.

McConaughey stated that his team seeks to ensure any use of his voice or likeness occurs only with his approval. “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 said.

His lawyer added that the registrations provide a tool to address AI misuse in federal court. Celebrities have encountered uses of their images and voices in memes, deepfakes and other content since the rise of online media. Swift has been the subject of AI-generated chatbots created by Meta and of pornographic images circulated online.

In the period before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, then-candidate Donald Trump shared AI-generated images that falsely suggested Swift had endorsed him.

State laws on the right of publicity generally prohibit the commercial use of a person’s name, voice or likeness without permission. Several states have updated these statutes to address digital replicas. The federal Lanham Act bars the use of terms or symbols likely to cause confusion about affiliation or endorsement, and has been applied to cases involving false endorsement such as the unauthorized use of music in political campaigns.

The Screen Actors Guild agreement, updated in recent years, restricts the use of AI-generated digital replicas of performers in roles that could replace them without consent. These provisions focus on protecting members’ employment rather than creating new intellectual property rights in their likenesses.

The agreement does not restrict the use of replicas in biopics. Federal copyright law grants exclusive rights to control copying, distribution, public performance and display of original works such as sound recordings, videos and musical compositions.

These rights are subject to exceptions including fair use for purposes such as parody. Privacy laws also address certain non-consensual deepfakes that depict sexual content or false statements.

Trademark rights arise from use of a mark in commerce to identify the source of goods or services. Registrations create a public record of those rights but traditionally address consumer confusion about origin rather than all unauthorized uses of identity.