Why Matthew McConaughey just trademarked his famous catchphrase

Any fans of Matthew McConaughey will know all about the lore surrounding his famous catchphrase.

In case you need your pop culture trivia refreshed, the 56-year-old Hollywood A-lister first made the iconic three-word catchphrase in his breakout role as David Wooderson in the 1993 cult comedy film, Dazed and Confused.

If you hadn't figured it out already, the catchphrase is, of course, 'alright, alright, alright!'.

Despite him saying it over three decades ago, it's clear fans are nowhere close to forgetting it, but there's a brand-new update in the saga as McConaughey has just trademarked the phrase.

The actor reportedly did so in order to protect his voice and likeness from unauthorised artificial intelligence (AI) misuse, per Variety.

The trademark registration for the sound state: "The mark consists of a man saying '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."

Dazed and Confused star Matthew McConaughey has trademarked his iconic catchphrase (Dave Benett / Contributor / via Getty)

According to the outlet, the trademark protection was applied for in December 2023 before being approved two years later in December 2025.

McConaughey’s attorneys from the entertainment law firm Yorn Levine have now successfully been granted eight trademarks from the US Patent and Trademark Office for the Interstellar star.

Other trademarks include a seven-second video clip of McConaughey standing on a porch, a three-second clip of him sitting in front of a Christmas tree, and audio of him saying 'Just keep livin', right?' followed by a pause, then 'I mean,' followed by another pause, and ending with 'What are we gonna do?'

His trademarks are registered to J.K. Livin Brands Inc., the parent company of the McConaughey's Just Keep Livin apparel business.

The actor reportedly trademarked the catchphrase to protect his voice and likeness from unauthorised AI misuse (Universal Pictures)

The law is able to protect celebrities in the showbiz industry from having their image or likeness used without their consent to sell products; however, there are currently no protections for AI audio and video that is not explicitly being used to sell anything.

Yorn Levine partner and co-founder Kevin Yorn told Variety: "I don’t know what a court will say in the end. But we have to at least test this.

"In a world where we’re watching everybody scramble to figure out what to do about AI misuse, we have a tool now to stop someone in their tracks or take them to federal court,” added Yorn Levine, of-counsel attorney Jonathan Pollack.