European ruling protects ad jingles

Under a 1988 Community Directive,1 in order to be registered as a trade mark, a sound sign must be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings and it must be capable of being represented graphically in a way that is clear, precise, self-contained, easily accessible, intelligible, durable and objective, such as a musical stave containing, in particular, a clef and musical notes.