Sports

From the roar of a lion to the key phrase of a cartoon character: Trademark sounds

Sounds play a key role in marketing a company’s brand and establishing brand recognition. For example, when you hear a duck’s voice saying “Aflac,” you instantly recognize it in commercials for the American Family Life Assurance Company. It is beneficial for companies to expand their branding strategies to encompass all senses, rather than just one. It makes the company or product more memorable and increases consumer loyalty, which helps improve profits. However, the use of sound as a distinctive identifier of a brand has not been an advertising tool for a long time. According to the records of the Office of Trademarks, the first successful application for a sound mark was registered in 1978 and was filed by NBC for its famous chime ringing. NBC’s trademark decision set a precedent in the field, as each sound brand comes after needing to possess certain criteria, such as being “… so inherently different or distinctive that it sticks to the subliminal mind of the listener. , to be awakened when heard, and to be associated with the source or event … “In re General Electric Broadcasting Co., 199 USPQ 560, 563 (TTAB 1978). There are approximately 203 live sound trademarks registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), compared to the thousands of visual trademarks that exist today.

The benefits of registering a sound trademark include exclusive use rights in television commercials, advertisements, and other media. Others who wish to use a trademark must request permission and pay the fees associated with using the trademark sound. However, the process of marking a sound is not for everyone. The process is often long, difficult, and expensive. Most of the time, you need to have a strong and enduring presence in your specific market to argue that the sound the brand is intended to mark distinguishes your brand and is easily recognizable by the typical consumer. Some examples of famous sound brands are MGM’s roaring lion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmW7_7tq4CM, Twentieth Century Fox cartoon character catchphrase “D’OH” (Homer Simpson) https : //www.youtube. com / watch? t = 10 & v = dO37Ql91qqM, and the ticking of the 60-minute stopwatch. In the field of sound markings, the case of Harley-Davidson, a very famous company, to record the unique sound of their engines is a perfect example of how difficult it is to demonstrate the distinctiveness of a brand. After six years of litigation and thousands of dollars, Harley-Davidson gave up and withdrew its application.

Despite the difficulty, it pays off for larger, established companies with a widely recognized brand that will reap substantial financial benefits if the sound is a trademark.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *