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iPhone maker Applewants to get exclusive rights to all depictions of the actual fruit. The Cupertino-based tech giant is reportedly continuing to contest the trademark of its popular fruit logo. As a trademark owner, the company is required to contest all challenges to its famous logo. Apple has been there and done that. In case of any deliberate infringement, the company can challenge it easily.However, in scenarios where the similarities between logos are coincidental or even hard to spot, it becomes more difficult for the company to challenge them.
According to a report by Wired, Apple is not giving up on its six-year-old fight against Fruit Union Suisse. For over 100 years, this association has been promoting the interests of Swiss fruit growers. Throughout most of this period, the association has been using a logo of a red apple with a white cross on it, says Fruit Union Suisse director Jimmy Mariethoz.
What the fruit-based association has to say
“We have a hard time understanding this [case with Apple] because it’s not like they’re trying to protect their bitten apple. Their objective here is really to own the rights to an actual apple, which, for us, is something that is really almost universal… that should be free for everyone to use,” Mariethoz added.
“We’re concerned that any visual representation of an apple — so anything that’s audiovisual or linked to new technologies or to media — could be potentially impacted. Theoretically, we could be entering slippery territory every time we advertise with an apple,” Mariethoz continued.
Why Fruit Union Suisse’s latest logo is a concern for the tech giant
To celebrate the group’s 100th year, Fruit Union Suisse revised the logo of a red apple with a white cross in 2011. The fact that the company’s current logo resembles the iPhone maker’s logo enough to confuse consumers is arguable. However, the association’s latest logo looks like the one that Apple used before 2017.
The tech giant has asked for the rights of “a Granny Smith apple” and has applied for the same to the Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in 2017. Fruit Union Suisse uses a red logo, while the tech company is concerned that in black and white documentation the logo of the fruit association may look similar to that of Apple’s.
According to a report by Wired, Apple is not giving up on its six-year-old fight against Fruit Union Suisse. For over 100 years, this association has been promoting the interests of Swiss fruit growers. Throughout most of this period, the association has been using a logo of a red apple with a white cross on it, says Fruit Union Suisse director Jimmy Mariethoz.
What the fruit-based association has to say
“We have a hard time understanding this [case with Apple] because it’s not like they’re trying to protect their bitten apple. Their objective here is really to own the rights to an actual apple, which, for us, is something that is really almost universal… that should be free for everyone to use,” Mariethoz added.
“We’re concerned that any visual representation of an apple — so anything that’s audiovisual or linked to new technologies or to media — could be potentially impacted. Theoretically, we could be entering slippery territory every time we advertise with an apple,” Mariethoz continued.
Why Fruit Union Suisse’s latest logo is a concern for the tech giant
To celebrate the group’s 100th year, Fruit Union Suisse revised the logo of a red apple with a white cross in 2011. The fact that the company’s current logo resembles the iPhone maker’s logo enough to confuse consumers is arguable. However, the association’s latest logo looks like the one that Apple used before 2017.
The tech giant has asked for the rights of “a Granny Smith apple” and has applied for the same to the Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) in 2017. Fruit Union Suisse uses a red logo, while the tech company is concerned that in black and white documentation the logo of the fruit association may look similar to that of Apple’s.
When IPI asked Apple to specify the usage of its logo, the company shared a long list of brands of digital and electronic consumer goods that uses a similar depiction.
In 2022, IPI reportedly gave Apple a partial win and said that the company will have the rights to only certain of the submitted categories. The iPhone maker is now appealing to win the rest of the rights.
The report also notes that as per the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Apple has also made several similar trademark requests across the world. In 2021, Apple also forced another company named Prepare to revise its logo.
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