Sounds as Trademarks (editorial)
By Robbie Rhodes
"Harley-Davidson battles for 'Soundmark'", rumbled the headline in my local newspaper this morning (Sunday 10 Feb 1996, from Knight- Ridder News Service).
> The company claims that the sound made by its famous motorcycle
> engine is uniquely its own, and they want exclusive rights to the
> sound. "We don't want the sound of _our_ motorcycle to become the
> _generic_ sound of motorcycles," said the company spokesman.
>
> The US Patent and Trademark Office has 729,000 trademarks
> registered, but only 29 are sounds. The National Broadcasting
> Company (NBC) was the first to register a "soundmark", claiming
> "the musical notes G, E, C played on chimes".
Well, not exactly. I as a little boy listening to the radio, I visualized a piano-thing producing the NBC "chime" sound. I was correct, too; somewhere I read that NBC built several 3-note "pianos" -- with strings, sound board, cast-iron plate, and a clockwork striking mechanism -- which hung on the wall of the announce booth at the major network stations. It sure isn't a tube chime!
I suppose BBC should have registered its use of "Big Ben", but then, the British have great faith in good sportsmanship. Radio Moscow never appropriated the sound of "Big Ben" for its propaganda broadcasts, thus avoiding yet another international conflict.
Another well-known registered "soundmark" is the roar of the MGM lion. But get this: a new application has been filed by Palladium Limited Partnership to prohibit others from using the famous music of "The Lone Ranger" radio, film and television series. The music is excerpted from Rossini's "William Tell Overture".
I'm used to the idea of NBC's "chimes", and the roar of the MGM lion is okay too, because these sounds are associated with the marque of aural and visual products. But Harley-Davidson is a very _material_ product (and noisy, too).
Imagine an ice cream vending company claiming the sound of a little music box playing "The Entertainer"! What if somebody claimed the "distinctive sound of an out-of-tune piano"?
Hey, World! Where do we draw the line?
-- Robbie Rhodes
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(Message sent Sat 10 Feb 1996, 22:44:03 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.) |
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