Apple is known for taking exceptional care of its intellectual property (although – there have been such cases – it can infringe on other people’s patents), patenting all possible ideas. Now, Americans apparently did not like the fact that many companies and organizations were inspired by the apple when creating their logo. So the iPhone manufacturer came up with the idea to ban the use of this fruit in logotypes. And worst of all, this plan might work for them.
Apple wants to ban apples in logos. And he has a chance
As reported by , Apple has started legal action in Switzerland to grant the company full rights to the image of the apple. And we are talking not about the famous shape of a bitten apple, which appears in the Apple logo, but about the apple in general. The aim is, of course, to prohibit other entities from using this fruit in their logotypes. The company’s lawyers apparently felt that any such trademarks might resemble the logotype of the Cupertino company too much, so they should be banned just in case.
If the Swiss judiciary agrees with the American lawyers, local companies and organizations that already have apples in their logos will suffer, complains Fruit Union Suisse. It is a Swiss association of fruit growers, which has been operating for 111 years and for most of its history uses a drawing of a red apple with a white cross. The association of fruit producers complains that Apple’s actions may end up having to remove the apple from the logo, with which they partly associate their history. Otherwise, they may face serious legal consequences.
Fruit-Union Suisse – logotype photo: screenshot from Fruit-Union Suisse website
The organization is also unable to understand why Apple is trying to ban the use of apples in general, and not just the characteristic pattern that the American manufacturer uses. “It’s hard for us to understand because it’s not like they’re trying to protect their bitten apple. Their goal here is actually to own the rights to the apple in general, which for us is something practically universal … which should be free for everyone,” Jimmy Mariéthoz, director of Fruit Union Suisse, told Wired.
Apple’s plans seem absurd, but the company has repeatedly tried to reserve the exclusive rights to the image of the apple in many countries of the world. In Switzerland, it last tried its hand in 2017, but then the local court only agreed to grant Apple the rights to only one variety of apples and only for certain applications. However, the Cupertino giant has already succeeded in banning apple logos in Japan, Turkey, Israel and Armenia.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
