World Report: October 20, 1995 Vol.1 No.5

Don't Rip Off Our Roar

VRROOM, VRROOM! Now hear this! The Harley Davidson company is asking the government to register the sound its motorcycles make as a trademark. Trademarks legally protect businesses from having their products copied by others. A trademark on the Harley sound would make it illegal for other motorcycles to copy the unique roar of a Harley engine.

If that sounds strange, listen up: NBC trademarked the three chimes you hear with its name on TV, and the MGM movie company did the same with its lion's growl. So don't copy that cat--it's against the law!