This is 99% invisible.

I'm Roman Mars.

It's really hard to get a sound trademarked.

The first one in the US was issued in 1978 to NBC for their chimes. MGM has one for their roaring lion,

as does 20th century fox. Three Fox. That's 99 P.I.'s own Katie Mingle.

D.M. Harley Davidson famously tried to trademark the sound of their motorcycles, that potato, potato,

potato sound. After years of litigation, they finally withdrew their application.

So if a bunch of burly bikers can't do it, it must be really hard.

Right now there are fewer than 200 active trademarks for sounds,

even though sound can be super important to brand.

Just ask these guys.

My name is Joel Beckerman, and I'm Tyler Gray. Tyler and I'm just ask these guys. My name is Joel Beckerman.

And I'm Tyler Gray.

Tyler and I wrote a book called The Sonic Boom,

How Sound Transforms The Way We Think, Feel, and Buy.

Here's a sound that would be like impossible to trademark, but Tyler and Joel say it was

crucial to building up the brand it's associated with.

All right, yeah, I have a steak and shrimp for here.

Very careful really hot. Oh man, I know that sound. I know it so well.

When I was just a little kid on a cul-de-sac,

they built a chilies in my town. This was before there were really chain

restaurants where I lived so chilies actually felt kind of novel and exotic. My family was

...