The American actor Matthew McConaughey, famous for films such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Interstellar, has implemented an innovative legal approach to protect his image and voice against unauthorized use by artificial intelligence systems. In January 2026, the artist registered several distinctive signs with the USPTO, such as his voice, audiovisual excerpts, and the famous phrase “Alright, alright, alright,” in order to prevent unauthorized artificial reproductions.
The action comes amid growing concern about the progress of generative AI technologies, which have the ability to produce hyper-realistic content that mimics the faces, voices, and expressions of real individuals. Resources of this type, generally linked to so-called deepfakes, have been used without permission for commercial, advertising, and even disinformation purposes, compromising the personality rights of public and private individuals.
In Brazil, personality rights, established in Article 5, items V, X, and XXVIII, of the Federal Constitution, and Articles 11 to 21 of the Civil Code guarantee the protection of image, voice, and personal identity against use by artificial intelligence. These provisions guarantee the protection of image, honor, and voice, allowing the owner to prevent unauthorized uses or uses that exceed the originally consented purpose, even in digital environments. In addition, the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) can be invoked when the image or voice is considered personal data, especially in situations involving the training of AI systems or the creation of synthetic content, requiring a legal basis and a legitimate purpose for such use.
Furthermore, even though Brazilian law does not allow the registration of images or voices as trademarks in the strict sense, it is possible to use the Industrial Property Law (Law No. 9,279/96) to protect distinctive signs linked to artistic or professional identity, such as names, pseudonyms, signatures, and expressions notoriously associated with the person, provided that they are used as identifiers of products or services.
This protection can be integrated with copyright and unfair competition laws, creating a legal framework capable of preventing the inappropriate use of identities by AI systems. As in the United States, there is a trend in Brazil to create a unified framework that combines personality rights, data protection, and intellectual property tools to deal with problems arising from the artificial replication of human images and voices.
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Author: Isabela Nicolella Vendramelli, Thaís de Kássia R. Almeida Penteado and Cesar Peduti Filho, Peduti Advogados
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If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.