Not Alright, Alright, Alright: How Celebrities Are Leveraging Trademark Law to Fight Digital Replicas (and How You Can Too!)

Matthew McConaughey made news earlier this year when his legal team filed several trademark applications for certain phrases from his films, like the iconic “alright, alright, alright” and “just keep living right? I mean, what else are we going to do?” from his 1993 film “Dazed and Confused.”

McConaughey’s filings may have received the most media attention, but he is by no means alone. Other celebrities have followed suit, including musicians like Taylor Swift, who filed two trademark applications in April for sound bites of her voice saying, “Hey, it’s Taylor...”