Apple mounts legal challenge over ‘apple’ logo

[bobolito]

Apple mounts legal challenge over ‘apple’ logo
Monday, October 05, 2009 - 11:48 AM EDT



"Woolworths' recently introduced logo is a stylised W resembling a piece of fruit (echoing its 'fresh food people' slogan)," Stephen Withers reports for iTWire. "But Apple thinks the new logo is too similar to the stylised apple design it has used in various forms and colours since the early days of the company."

"Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. Trade marks are granted for specific categories of products and services, allowing Hyundai and Microsoft to use the same trade mark (Excel) for a car and a computer program," Withers reports. "But Woolworths is trying to register its logo as a trademark in Class 9 (among others), which includes 'apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images... calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers... computer devices and computer peripheral devices... [and] computer hardware and software.'"

"Apple has products in all of those categories," Withers reports. "Another issue is that Apple already uses its logo to identify its retail stores."

Julian Lee reports for The Age, "Apple will have to convince IP Australia, the Federal Government agency that governs trademarks, to knock back Woolworths' application - filed in August last year - to trademark its logo."

"Woolworths' application includes a wide class for electrical goods and technology, putting it in direct competition with Apple should the retailer choose to brand computers, music players or other devices," Lee reports. "Woolworths has gone into credit cards and mobile phones, so the likelihood of it going into computers is not too remote."

"Trademark lawyer Trevor Choy said it was common for Apple to prevent others from using anything that resembled an apple in a logo or marketing," Lee reports.

MacDailyNews Take: Clearly, Apple is right to protect themselves against the possibility of Woolworths slapping said logo on some random phones, music players, PCs and/or other electronic devices and potentially confusing consumers and diminishing decades of hard work and money that Apple has invested in their brand's logo - one of the most valuable in the world.

MacDailyNews - Apple mounts legal challenge over Woolworth's 'apple' logo

[bobolito]

LOL! Ridiculous. I see no similarity whatsoever. I'm surprised Apple haven't sued any of these:

[bobolito]

Now, as if this was not enough, check this out:

Apple Sues School For Using The Same Fruit In a Logo


The Victoria School of Business and Technology in Canada could have probably taken a more original approach when designing their logo, but I doubt Apple is protecting themselves from much by suing the hell out of them. Are students showing up at Apple stores demanding that the so-called "Genius Bar" reconsider their essays marks? Are Apple store employees inadvertently showing up at the school and teaching hours and hours of "How to use iPhoto" classes? Apple is just trying to prevent the devaluation of their logo here, but it never looks good when you sue a school, even if that school is a for-profit vocational tech college.

Apple Sues School For Using The Same Fruit In a Logo - Apple - Gizmodo

[JFB]

Woolworth's looks more like a tomato to me.
Also somebody didn't already take a bite out of theirs. They wouldn't sell much fresh fruits that were pre-bitten.