Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

wired.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 191 posts

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#111

Post by tpmoney »

colejohnson66 wrote: post #54
jagged-chisel wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trademarks are limited to the trades (i.e. 'goods& services') listed in the trademark application. Apple, Inc doesn't sell apples. Nor do they have apple farms. Visit USPTO's TESS and search for serial number 87628828. The "Goods and Services" field contains no mention of fruit, farms, or produce. You must diligently protect your trademark against uses by others in similar markets. I would hope that protecting your c…

That is true. That argument also got Apple Records off Apple's back in the old days; they weren't in the music business (until they did with iTunes and were sued again). I think the lawyers are being too ambitious with this lawsuit, and will lose, but my comment was just clarifying why lawyers would bring such a case.

There’s no lawsuit though. The article is literally about an application for trademark registration Apple filed in 2017 and a now subsequent appeal of the specific portions of that application which were denied and a hypothetical by an interested third party that too broad a grant might cause conflict in the future.

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#112

Post by chimeracoder »

pie420 wrote: post #100
ilyt wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What is Apple going to do next? Try to get a patent on rounded corners for rectangular electronic devices? For those that haven't seen it https://www.theverge.com/2012/11/7/3614506/apple-patents-rec... yes, they actually did.

[flagged]

> yes, congrats, you got the joke he was making.

The event is over ten years old. Plenty of readers may not know about it, so GP was explaining it for their benefit.

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#113

Post by freedomben »

anigbrowl wrote: post #107

Wired knows better. Apple is required by US trademark law to file pro forma objections to other similar logos because if they don't, they can be accused of constructive abandonment' of their own mark which will drastically limit their ability to seek recourse against genuine infringement. The problem here is not Apple, but the perverse incentives in US trademark jurisprudence.

Do you truthfully think that Apple the computer company is at risk in the US (or anywhere for that matter) of losing their trademark if they don't go after a union of fruit growers in a completely different market with a logo that is not in any way confusing to consumers?

No doubt what you say is true for some infrigement cases and should be blamed on US trademark jurisprudence, and the US does badly need reform of IP laws, but blaming that for this move by Apple seems like a major stretch.

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#114

Post by tpmoney »

Runepika wrote: post #23

Given Apple's history with the Beatles, they should have some humility.

Their history with the Beatles is exactly what is at issue here. They’re filing a registration for the Apple Records logo, which they now own the right to as it pertains to use in trade in and around music and related media.

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#115

Post by BowBun »

hourago wrote: post #71

> Following a protracted back-and-forth between both parties, the IPI partially granted Apple’s request last fall, saying that Apple could have rights relating to only some of the goods it wanted, citing a legal principle that considers generic images of common goods—like apples—to be in the public domain. In the spring, Apple launched an appeal. And the worst part is that Apple is wasting tax-payer money around the…

Agreed. The only mandate for a corporation is growth and revenue. These goals are at odds with the good of people and our planet, as we've seen countless times.

Corporations consume most of our resources, produce the most waste, and damage _everything_ more compared to any individual. This won't change, because those with the power to do something benefit from the status quo and don't feel the damage they cause. Capitalism is a cancer that will consume everything.

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#116

Post by [deleted] »

fredoralive wrote: post #89
jeroen wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple applied for a design patent for a very specific design https://www3.wipo.int/madrid/monitor/jsp/data.jsp?KEY=ROM_AC... doesn't look like a very specific design to me, but like a pretty generic apple. > as it applies to electronic devices and a few other narrow categories This is neither a few nor narrow, imho: Musical sound recordings; sound recordings featuring entertainment, music, musicians, documentaries,…

It's the logo for Apple Corps / Apple Records, the Beatles' company (whose trademarks are now owned by Apple Inc and licensed back to them). The uses mostly match up with the areas of business a record and film company like Apple Corps would trade in?

[deleted]

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#117

Post by Retric »

jeroen wrote: post #47
Retric wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As always, the sound bites obscure the issue. The concern is not the specific request, but how widely trademark is enforceable, which is a question of IP law not Apple’s actions. Apple applied for a design patent for a very specific design and ignorant people flipped out completely misunderstanding the issue. Yet again there’s another story where the details matter and you get articles like this completely glossing o…

> Apple applied for a design patent for a very specific design https://www3.wipo.int/madrid/monitor/jsp/data.jsp?KEY=ROM_AC... doesn't look like a very specific design to me, but like a pretty generic apple. > as it applies to electronic devices and a few other narrow categories This is neither a few nor narrow, imho: Musical sound recordings; sound recordings featuring entertainment, music, musicians, documentaries,…

First their design patent I am referring to is about a very specific cellphone design including button placement for volume, camera location, etc.

That is logo and they don’t want it to cover handbags, bicycles, paint, pens, toasters, hats, harmonicas, refrigerators, milk, earrings, green tea, fast food, wine, hair cuts, bananas … aka 99.9% of all products and services.

Apple however owns Apple+ which makes original content and they do want that business model covered, thus the long list of things that cover a tiny area. https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/

PS: The need to list each medium seems silly with 3 types of CD listed here: “pre-recorded compact discs, audio tapes, gramophone records, video tapes, video discs, DVDs, CD-ROMs and interactive compact discs”

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#119

Post by trumpeta »

BowBun wrote: post #115
hourago wrote: post #71

> Following a protracted back-and-forth between both parties, the IPI partially granted Apple’s request last fall, saying that Apple could have rights relating to only some of the goods it wanted, citing a legal principle that considers generic images of common goods—like apples—to be in the public domain. In the spring, Apple launched an appeal. And the worst part is that Apple is wasting tax-payer money around the…

Agreed. The only mandate for a corporation is growth and revenue. These goals are at odds with the good of people and our planet, as we've seen countless times. Corporations consume most of our resources, produce the most waste, and damage _everything_ more compared to any individual. This won't change, because those with the power to do something benefit from the status quo and don't feel the damage they cause. Capi…

I hope Apple loses and is forced to change their logo i to something like a bitten iPhone. The other company make actual apples and for longer than Apple, so they should have the right of way.

Re: Apple wants rights to the image of apples in Switzerland

#120

Post by ACV001 »

And this is one of the problems with having a purely capitalist system. It kind of works, but to a certain degree. If you let the corporations grow uncontrollably, in the end they become so powerful that they control governments (and not the other way around as it should be). This is already happening, but we either don't know or don't care. Also, the patent system is broken. There are many examples of absurd patents and so called patent wars. It looks like the system is not well designed and is open to various exploits.
Post reply on HN