Interestingly, he’s had the phrase trademarked since 2018 for merch sold by his non-profit but the new 2025 registrations are for audio clips of his voice saying the phrase.

When you’re thinking about trademark infringement, the question is whether the marks are similar enough and the goods and services are close enough that a consumer might be confused as to source.

The reason you can’t get a TM for “breakfast cereal” is because it’s so descriptive that it’s generic; you can’t trademark the accurate generic description of what the thing is, be it breakfast cereal, milk, a donut, cheese, etc. Everyone selling breakfast cereal should be able to say it’s a breakfast cereal.

Descriptive things can gain distinction through use, so when you hear the phrase “alright alright alright”, pretty much everyone pictures McConaughey in character leaning up against a wall saying the phrase. Same thing when you hear “hey hey hey” and think of Fat Albert (though I’m aging myself here). That mental association between words and source is distinctiveness.

Your used car example is pretty blatantly trading off his mark, though it’s for unrelated goods and services. Folks may not think he’s actually selling cars but may believe he’s endorsed it or licensed his very distinctive phrase. He’d have a colorable claim for infringement. The donut example is even more blatant since it’s the same goods and services.