The iconic startup sound of Apple's Mac computers is now trademarked in the United States, following an approval by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple filed for the trademark in June, and was granted the trademark yesterday, notes Patently Apple.

The sound, which has changed only a handful of times over the years, was created by programmer Jim Reekes, who spent 12 years at Apple as a software architect. It even made an appearance in Pixar's 2008 film "Wall-E."

Here's a collection of Mac chimes (including the ones indicating massive errors) from over the years:

And an interview with Reekes from two years ago from One More Thing (with some NSFW language):

OMT in San Francisco #3: 'Let it beep' from One More Thing on Vimeo.