# Is Stephen Hawkings "voice" trademarked (or copyrighted, or whatever is appropriate)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393 "2012-05-19T04:11:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/21 "2012-05-21T18:28:02Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Similarly, a design patent could protect the voice. The best known example (soon to fade from our shop shelves) is the distinctive yellow of a box of Kodak film. They have a design patent on the colour. They didn’t invent yellow. But if anyone else tried to market film in a yellow box they would find themselves in breach of Kodak’s patent. Do you know the number to this design patent? I can see Kodak asserting that its color yellow is protected trade dress, but I’d be surprised that the color could be protected through a design patent. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/22 "2012-05-21T19:00:43Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > because it has become something of a trademark voice for him. This is “trademark” in a colloquial sense, not in a legal sense. It’s not a use in commerce, so it can’t be a trademark. > [@](#): > > But that isn’t to say that he could not do so. As I stated before, there are many reasons to doubt that he could register his voice qua voice as a trademark. > [@](#): > > Certainly another guy talking astrophysics using that voice would be clearly both deriving from Hawking’s work What do you mean he would be “deriving from Hawking’s work”? Hawking’s work is not his voice. I don’t even know what paradigm (copyright, trademark, etc.) this kind of “deriving” is supposed to implicate. > [@](#): > > and leading to possible confusion with Hawking. If someone is intentionally trying to impersonate Hawking, then that could be a violation of his personality rights. Unless Hawking is using his voice as an indicator of the source of origin of some goods and services, you don’t even embark on a likelihood of confusion analysis. > [@](#): > > Trademarks require registering in each country that they are used Not in the United States, they don’t. Unregistered trademarks are protectable under both federal and state law in the United States. I assume that there is at least a handful of other countries that protect unregistered trademarks, at the very least as part of unfair business practices law. > [@](#): > > Anyone actually doing something that infringed on Hawking’s public persona would be simply branded an a\*\*\*\*\*\* and would ruin their career. You can’t buy protection like that at any price. What do you mean by “infringed on [his] public persona”? Do you mean, as I stated before, misappropriation of his identity, persona, image, likeness, or voice? If so, again, this is a matter of personality (right of publicity) law, not for trademark law. Whether he has such rights depends on the jurisdiction in which he brings his claim. In other words, it could mean something else other than being “branded an asshole” (we’re allowed to use grownup words on the SDMB). As for “ruining his career,” it would depend on the circumstances in which someone is using that voice. Are you actually talking about someone impersonating Hawking in order to, what, sell his own book? Then that’s covered by fraud law and very well might be a crime. > [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > A trademark is what it says - a mark of your trade. Hawking is a professional physicist who also does media appearances as a professional physicist. That is his trade. He could certainly argue that a distinctive mark of his trade is his now well known voice. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t invent the voice, what matters is that it is a distinctive mark of his appearance in the media. The standards you’ve set forth are all wrong. Just because he does some kind of trade doesn’t mean that his voice is a trademark. What goods or services is he trading in? And how is his voice being used? It can only be a trademark if his voice is used by consumers to identify the goods or services he’s offering. Where is your nexus between goods and services and the purported mark here? Keep in mind that an author’s name on the cover of a book is not considered a trademark use in commerce. It’s simply a name qua name and names used as names are not protected by trademark law. I would have to think that a person’s voice used simply as speech is the same. What are Hawking’s goods or services? And how is his voice used to identify the source of such goods or services? You have to think a little deeper here. > [@](#): > > Similarly, a design patent could protect the voice. If there were any such design patent, it could only be held by the inventor – that is the person who designed the speech synthesizer. And it would expire after 20 years. > [@](#): > > The best known example (soon to fade from our shop shelves) is the distinctive yellow of a box of Kodak film. They have a design patent on the colour. They didn’t invent yellow. But if anyone else tried to market film in a yellow box they would find themselves in breach of Kodak’s patent. This doesn’t sound like design patent law to me. It sounds like trade dress law, which has the same standards as trademark law. Bottom line: I see potential personality rights or fraud issues here. It might be misappropriation if someone is trying to evoke Hawking’s identity or persona by using his voice. It is fraud is only if someone is attempting to impersonate Hawking; in other words, trying to mislead the public about the identity of the speaker. Otherwise, I see no trademark or patent issues. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/23 "2012-05-21T19:32:21Z")
If it were a real trademark, the fact that he doesn’t go after whoever’s behind MC Hawking would count against him. You have to actively defend a trademark, or it lapses into the public domain. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/24 "2012-05-21T21:01:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If it were a real trademark, the fact that he doesn’t go after whoever’s behind MC Hawking would count against him. You have to actively defend a trademark, or it lapses into the public domain. I disagree with this analysis. The question is whether MC Hawking’s use would otherwise be infringing. As a parody-type use, it’s unlikely there’s any real likelihood of confusion. The questions include: 1. What is the mark? Is it distinctive? 2. What is the use in commerce by Stephen Hawking? 3. What is the use in commerce by MC Hawking? 4. Do these uses together create a likelihood of confusion? If MC Hawking’s use isn’t a confusing use in the first place (and I don’t think it is), Stephen Hawking doesn’t have a duty to go after him. And really, the duty to defend is just one bit of evidence among many regarding whether the purported mark really identifies what the plaintiff says it identifies. It’s not a magic spell. Just because you haven’t sued someone doesn’t necessarily mean by itself that you’ve given up your exclusive rights. ---
**Author:** ![JBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4491bb/32.png) [@JBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBird)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/25 "2015-06-14T21:30:43Z")
From [Newsweek.com](http://Newsweek.com) Dec 18, 2014, [How Eddie Redmayne Got Stephen Hawking to Lend Him His Voice](http://www.newsweek.com/what-made-stephen-hawking-lend-another-man-his-voice-292430) “After the initial screening, Hawking was so pleased with the movie he allowed the filmmakers to swap the synthetic voice they had to create with his own, **copyright** version.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/26 "2015-06-14T23:27:51Z")
> [@JBird](#): > > From [Newsweek.com](http://Newsweek.com) Dec 18, 2014, > [How Eddie Redmayne Got Stephen Hawking to Lend Him His Voice - Newsweek](http://www.newsweek.com/what-made-stephen-hawking-lend-another-man-his-voice-292430) > “After the initial screening, Hawking was so pleased with the movie he allowed the filmmakers to swap the synthetic voice they had to create with his own, **copyright** version.” This needs more explanation, because on its face, “copyright version” of his voice seems like gibberish. If there is copyright protection, what is the creative work? The only creative work I can identify is possibly the software code that creates it. If that’s the case, I don’t understand the significance of using the “copyright version” of his voice, unless the movie producers faced some kind of technological limitation in independently producing a voice that sounded exactly like Hawking’s voice. Without further information, I just don’t trust Newsweek to know what it’s talking about. I have read and heard too much bollocks from the general interest press when it comes to intellectual property issues. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/27 "2015-06-15T00:10:04Z")
I don’t know if this from the [Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10866057/Have-you-still-got-that-American-voice-Queen-asks-Stephen-Hawking.html) clears it up or totally muddles it. > [@](#): > > Stephen Hawking was asked by the Queen if he still had “that American voice” at a charity event in St James’ Palace. > > The world renowned British physicist replied to her joke with a quip of his own, saying his distinctive computer-based communication system was “copyrighted”. > > Prof Hawking, the Cambridge University academic who wrote A Brief History of Time and Into the Universe, was among the guests who greeted the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at a reception in tribute to the work of Leonard Cheshire Disability - the country’s leading disability charity. > > Patricia O’Dowd, the scientist’s nurse, said: "He has met the Queen and Prince before. Prince Philip said he hadn’t seen him in ages. > > “The Queen said ‘Have you still got that American voice?’ Stephen said ‘Yes, it is copyrighted actually’.” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/28 "2015-06-15T00:18:05Z")
Let me point out something that nobody’s mentioned yet, I think. Of course Hawking doesn’t type anything into the synthesizer. He can’t make any movements with his hands. He twitches a single cheek muscle: > **[Stephen Hawking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking)** > > Stephen William Hawking (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who, at the time of his death, was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world. > Hawking was born in Oxford into a family of physicians. In October 1959, a... > **[Stephen Hawking - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370071/)** > > Stephen Hawking. Actor: Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 on Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for... Hawking is a super-geek (and was kind of lazy and a big partygoer in his younger days). He appeared on _The Simpsons_, _Futurama_, _The Big Bang Theory_, _Star Trek: The New Generation_, etc. because he wanted to do it. He’s a big fan of all of those shows (and others like _Red Dwarf_ and _Doctor Who_). He recently said that he would like to play the villain in a James Bond movie sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/29 "2015-06-15T00:37:11Z")
The original hardware was a [DECtalk DTC01](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DECtalk). I have one in my basement somewhere - it was a very expensive standalone box that turned serial (RS-232) commands into speech. It also had a telephone line connection (it was originally intended as an automated voice response system, but was not priced low enough for that to be cost-effective). There were also multi-line versions in racks. Later, there was a PC (ISA) board and even later, software for use on a PC. The original DECtalk was a design by Dennis Klatt which was “productized” by Martin Minow. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/30 "2015-06-15T00:40:05Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I don’t know if this from the [Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10866057/Have-you-still-got-that-American-voice-Queen-asks-Stephen-Hawking.html) clears it up or totally muddles it. > [@](#): > > The world renowned British physicist replied to her joke with a quip of his own, saying his distinctive computer-based communication system was “copyrighted”. > > … > > “The Queen said ‘Have you still got that American voice?’ Stephen said ‘Yes, it is copyrighted actually’.” This leads me to believe that Hawking himself doesn’t really know what he’s talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/31 "2015-06-15T02:36:53Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This leads me to believe that Hawking himself doesn’t really know what he’s talking about. Or more likely, that it was easier to select “copyrighted” than “trademarked”. I wouldn’t confuse colloquialism with ignorance in any case, but I would imagine that colloquialisms would be different if you had to select your words with eye twitches. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/32 "2015-06-15T02:42:49Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Or more likely, that it was easier to select “copyrighted” than “trademarked”. I wouldn’t confuse colloquialism with ignorance in any case, but I would imagine that colloquialisms would be different if you had to select your words with eye twitches. Even if he had said “trademarked,” it still doesn’t clear anything up. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/33 "2015-06-15T15:28:04Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Hawking has a sense of humor (he likes The Simpsons a lot) and he does seem to like it. He’s also known to be a [Trekkie](http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-08-29/professor-stephen-hawking-recalls-his-star-trek-cameo-in-clip-from-new-documentary) and even guest-starred on the show as himself, making him [the only actor to play himself on Star Trek](http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Stephen_Hawking). This also means you can add “actor” to his list of professions, which could possibly impact the OP as certain jurisdictions may grant legal publicity rights for performers. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/34 "2015-06-15T15:52:17Z")
Obligatory reference: **[Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes](http://www.theonion.com/article/microsoft-patents-ones-zeroes-599)** NEWS March 25, 1998 VOL 33 ISSUE 11 Business REDMOND, WA—In what CEO Bill Gates called “an unfortunate but necessary step to protect our intellectual property from theft and exploitation by competitors,” the Microsoft Corporation patented the numbers one and zero Monday. **Ascenray** , if you have the time and inclination, I think a brief dissection of why this joke works (i.e., cannot be done) would be interesting. Because everyone gets it, but apparently a lot of people like me don’t, really, at base. I know you must get sick of repeating refutations of bollox – did I use that Brit word correctly? – but you’re One of Us now. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/35 "2015-06-15T15:54:27Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > He’s also known to be a [Trekkie](http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-08-29/professor-stephen-hawking-recalls-his-star-trek-cameo-in-clip-from-new-documentary) and even guest-starred on the show as himself, making him [the only actor to play himself on Star Trek](http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Stephen_Hawking). This also means you can add “actor” to his list of professions, which could possibly impact the OP as certain jurisdictions may grant legal publicity rights for performers. You don’t have to be an actor to have personality rights. But, in any case, that is exactly the point I was making in the thread all along. If he has any rights on his voice, it most likely falls under a right of publicity or perhaps under some kind of false association or misappropriation theory. It still makes zero sense for him—so far as I can tell—or anyone else to say that there is a “copyright(ed)/trademark(ed) version” of his voice or that his voice is “copyrighted/trademarked” given the circumstances that are known so far. He’s a smart guy, but no one can be an expert on everything. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/36 "2015-06-15T16:31:54Z")
As **Ascenray** notes, U.S. courts have defined a [right of publicity](http://rightofpublicity.com/brief-history-of-rop) as a distinct\* commercial \*right. In some states, the right extends even beyond the lifetime of the celebrity. Like all commercial claims it gets into a lot of details about whether the impersonation is deliberate or accidental, whether it’s done for commercial reasons, whether it can be considered “damaging” to the interests of the celebrity, etc. Bette Midler and Tom Waitts successfully sued when companies used voice impersonators without their consent. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/37 "2015-06-15T16:57:55Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Obligatory reference: > > **[Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes](http://www.theonion.com/article/microsoft-patents-ones-zeroes-599)** > > NEWS > March 25, 1998 > VOL 33 ISSUE 11 > Business > REDMOND, WA—In what CEO Bill Gates called “an unfortunate but necessary step to protect our intellectual property from theft and exploitation by competitors,” the Microsoft Corporation patented the numbers one and zero Monday. > **Ascenray** , if you have the time and inclination, I think a brief dissection of why this joke works (i.e., cannot be done) would be interesting. Because everyone gets it, but apparently a lot of people like me don’t, really, at base. > > I know you must get sick of repeating refutations of bollox – did I use that Brit word correctly? – but you’re One of Us now. The Prankster once copyrighted the alphabet in an old (40s-50s) Superman comic. That can’t be done either. The alphabet, numbers, and other mechanical conglomerations cannot be copyrighted. Nor can [common phrases or pseudonyms or titles](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAAahUKEwijpemmlJLGAhUNDJIKHZaADmA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcopyright.gov%2Fcircs%2Fcirc34.pdf&ei=kAJ_VaOdAo2YyASWgbqABg&usg=AFQjCNEyM0lyn6f9IjWT0NarJ0dbAkA63g&sig2=YMWB4gw1dNuq1B7fZ_imaA). (Link goes to .pdf.) Some original content must be involved. And it’s [bollocks](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bollocks) although bollox and bollix are sometimes seen. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/38 "2015-06-15T17:29:44Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Obligatory reference: > > **[Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeroes](http://www.theonion.com/article/microsoft-patents-ones-zeroes-599)** > > NEWS > March 25, 1998 > VOL 33 ISSUE 11 > Business > REDMOND, WA—In what CEO Bill Gates called “an unfortunate but necessary step to protect our intellectual property from theft and exploitation by competitors,” the Microsoft Corporation patented the numbers one and zero Monday. > **Ascenray** , if you have the time and inclination, I think a brief dissection of why this joke works (i.e., cannot be done) would be interesting. Because everyone gets it, but apparently a lot of people like me don’t, really, at base. > > I know you must get sick of repeating refutations of bollox – did I use that Brit word correctly? – but you’re One of Us now. There are actually several reasons why this can’t happen. 1. Only inventions can be patented. Gates didn’t invent ones and zeros. 2. Specifically, an invention must be a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. Ones and zeros aren’t any of these things, even if you broadly interpret “process.” 3. An invention must be truly novel to be patented—note that this is much stronger than the concept of originality in copyright law. That means that there must be no evidence anywhere that anyone had ever used the concepts of one and zero. 4. Laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas cannot be patented. It seems to me that one and zero are arguably all three of these things. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/39 "2015-06-16T00:51:19Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > His voice synthesiser is a very old off the shelf product. And, FWIW, they doubtless would assert trademark/copyright on the voice. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393/40 "2015-06-16T11:24:03Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > And, FWIW, they doubtless would assert trademark/copyright on the voice. They would doubtless assert copyright-based rights in the program code that created the voice. Whether they would have any trademark or copyright-based rights to assert in the voice would require a lot more information. It would not be doubtless at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stephen-hawkings-voice-trademarked-or-copyrighted-or-whatever-is-appropriate/622393.md?page=3)