IP and AI: A Widening Gap

Bloomberg’s article frames the widening gap between legacy IP doctrines and AI‑driven impersonation risks. Mr. McConaughey’s “voice mark” registrations — his effort to trademark audio and video recordings of his signature phrases, such as “alright, alright, alright”— are a creative maneuver but ultimately fail because trademark law is not built for this purpose. But such failures underscore why a federal framework is becoming unavoidable. Until Congress enacts a federal right‑of‑publicity statute with explicit AI boundaries, practitioners will have to continue doing best they can with the tools at hand. In the meantime, give Mr. McConaughey credit for pushing the issue into the headlines.

The catch: the way an accused infringer uses a mark matters, and trademark law generally can’t address use that doesn’t serve as a source identifier.

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