[D-Chivas]

Kind of like a buggy whip manufacturer patenting the "crack" sound.

[TET1968]

"Kind of like a buggy whip manufacturer patenting the "crack" sound."



Trademarks & Brands
United States of America

Harley-Davidson of US abandons sound trademark
Customers find engine sound distinctive

Harley-Davidson, the largest motorcycle maker in the US, had decided to abandon its application for registering the distinctive roar of its V-Twin engine as a trademark, after 6 years of facing oppositions. The application filed in 1994, was approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office on grounds that the sound, by itself, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and distinguished them from other motorcycles. But several competitors, opposed the application and Harley-Davidson is awaiting a ruling on one such opposition for more than three years.

Abandoning the application to register the trademark, the Company has reasoned that, "If our customers know the sound cannot be imitated, that good enough for ... Harley-Davidson."