14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has debuted an initiative designed to keep the Windows Vista rock'n'roll exclusively in the family. The Microsoft family, that is. Yes, the Windows Vista melody indeed plays on 3.02% of the world's computers at every boot, but this does not mean that users have any rights on the sound.
This because Microsoft has patented the Windows Vista startup melody. According to Trade Mark : 1172753 for IPAustralia, Microsoft is now the exclusive owner of all the rights of Dual Ascending Melodies. The trademark covers computer software, including operating system programs and "the mark consists of the sound of dual ascending melodies played in parallel as 2-note chords E/B, G#/E, a brief rest, followed by two more 2-note chords B/F#, E/B where the initial notes are played two octaves above middle C, as represented in the musical score attached to the application."
And that is the Windows Vista startup sound. The one that Vista users hear at every boot and that you will be able to see if you simply click the thumbnail towards the bottom of this article. Considering the enormous volume of resources that Microsoft has spent on creating the Vista melody, and also the fact that 20 people worked for 18 months on the startup sound, trademarking the result is the logic way to go.
"In the end, the Windows Vista startup sound is deceptively simple (four notes, actually eight if you count the fact that each of the four notes is actually two notes, in dual ascending melodies that map directly to the rhythm of "Win-dows Vis-ta"), often the process to get to 'simple' involves incredible scaffolding, and deep planning and hundreds of iterations during the process. Our process, from the beginning, was planned to be executed in four distinct multi-month phases: a) exploration, b) orchestration, c) refinement, and d) selection," revealed Steve Ball, group program manager for Vista.
