Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company wants to patent its "rev", adding sounds to its growing list of owned names and stuff. Hog, Sturgis, Fat Boy, and on and on. AND THEY HAVE FIFTY-ONE MORE NAMES PENDING FOR PATENT!
Harley-Davidson has become the Bill Gates of the motorcycling world. Gotta have it all. Squeeze everybody out, and if we can't squeeze them out, find a way to sue them so we can bleed them dry.
Bike Week is about here. How many independent dealers will there be in Daytona selling shirts, sunglasses, and leather bikinis with the H-D logo on them? I'd bet it's a whole lot. Now, who wants to venture a guess as to how many will be hassled by H-D unless they're getting a piece of the action? I've talked with several of these "little guys" and they ARE being squeezed out of existence.
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company wants it all. Don't use any of their words, and they won't hassle you. It's that simple. So no hogs, no fat boys, no sturgis. I haven't seen the list of pending patent requests, but I have to wonder if Daytona is on that list.
There was an article in USA Today not too long ago that quoted Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company as saying their sound was "legendary". This was in reply to someone asking why they wanted to patent an engine sound.
We've been calling the Harley Rendezvous "legendary" for a whole lot of years. Did we err by not asking Uncle Sam if we could own that word? Hell, it's in the dictionary, and we're not greedy. "Classic", "Legendary", and now, "The Spirit that Never Dies", are all associated with the Rendezvous. We know that, and you know that. Should be run out and patent them so Harley-Davidson can't call their sound "legendary" again? I don't really think we want to do that. Unlike H-D, we don't mind sharing some of the words associated with our event. In fact, it makes us kind of proud that H-D likes the words associated with our event enough to want to take them because we haven't patented them.
Maybe we bikers, who seem to be the ones lost in all this fighting about copyrights and trademarks and all that other bullshit, should file some patent requests. We could end up owing the whole bike if we do it right. How about patenting "forks", or "tire", or "seat", or "frame". You get the idea! This is all bullshit!
So what is the sound of a motorcycle anyway? Isn't it produced by internal combustion -- something about fuel exploding inside the cylinder head, sending it's rev out through assorted pipes? What's next? They'll dictate how pipes can be assembled so nothing comes close to the sound of a H-D engine?
Who will judge what sounds too much like a Harley? Can Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company itself come up with two of their bikes that sound EXACTLY the same? I don't think that they could.
Okay, show of hands here now: How many of you can tell who's coming by the unique sound of that hog pulling up? I thought so...
The sound produced is unique to each bike.
If they wanted to keep the Jap bikes from duplicating a rev, that's one thing, and we'd join forces with them. But this goes much further. If they are successful with their patent request, you won't be able to build your own bike anymore. Think about it.