As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, intellectual property violations are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated, creating growing concern for IP rights holders.

That concern is justified, especially with the rise of deepfake videos online that replicate a person’s image and voice with remarkable accuracy—often enough to deceive even careful viewers.

In response to this new reality, public figures such as Matthew McConaughey are exploring innovative ways to protect their image rights, voice rights, and brand identity. Through the foundation J.K. Livin Brands, Inc., created by the actor together with his wife, applications have been filed with the USPTO to register visual and audio elements as trademarks.

Here are a few examples:

1. Sound trademark

US Serial Number: 98325529

Description: a man saying “ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT”, with a specific pitch pattern.

Class 41: entertainment services, including personal appearances, live performances, and film and television production.

2. Motion trademark

US Serial Number: 98328056

Description: a short moving image featuring Matthew McConaughey in a living-room setting, with specific facial movement and gestures over approximately three seconds.

Class 41: entertainment services, including personal appearances, live performances, and audiovisual production.

3. Motion trademark

US Serial Number: 98296825

Description: a motion sequence showing the actor outdoors, making distinct gestures over approximately seven seconds.

Class 41: entertainment services, including personal appearances, live performances, and audiovisual production.

The strategy behind these filings is to create an additional legal pathway to combat the unauthorized use of an artist’s identity. As explained in the original article, the goal is to strengthen legal protection and help ensure that artists share in the value generated by the use of their image and voice, while also making it easier to remove unlawful content such as AI-generated deepfakes.

In Brazil, the legal framework does not yet expressly provide for the registration of sound marks or audiovisual marks in the same way. Even so, strategic alternatives may still be available, such as registering static frames that combine visual elements, graphic features, and textual components.

In the race against AI-related IP infringement, strategy and creativity must go hand in hand. Protecting intellectual property, personality rights, and the public itself is increasingly essential in a digital environment shaped by synthetic media and misinformation.