Battle for Tarzan cry falling on deaf ears

LONDON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- An attempt by the estate of "Tarzan" author Edgar Rice Burroughs to trademark the hero's battle cry initially has been rejected by the European Union.

After applying for a trademark on the popularized shout of the jungle hero, the estate's lawyers were informed by European Union officials that a spectrogram of the late Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller's famed cry was inconclusive, The Telegraph reported Saturday.

"It is impossible to recognize from the image as filed whether the sound phenomena depicted therein is a human voice or something else, e.g., the tune of violins or bells or a dog's bark," the EU ruling said.

Despite the ruling against his client, lawyer Stephen James remains confident that the estate's second application should pass thanks to a recording of Weissmuller's famous battle cry.

"I'm confident we will be able to register it," the London-based lawyer said.

The Telegraph reported that Weissmuller maintained he created the true sound of the famed call, but critics have alleged it was altered to produce the desired effect.