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Tarzan lawyers battle to trademark cry

Lawyers attempting to trademark Tarzan’s distinctive battle cry have vowed to continue their fight in the bureaucratic jungle of the EU after one bid to register the sound fell flat.

The rousing call might have scared off Lord Greystoke’s beastly enemies, but it fell on deaf ears at the Union’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Trade Marks and Designs).

The estate of Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs wants to trademark the yell believing millions are to be made across Europe from advertising, mobile phone ring tones and computer games.

But the EU has been unimpressed by the estate’s application, which included a description of the cry and a spectogram which visually plots Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller’s famous vocal.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)