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Apple Inc. Inks Apple Corps Deal
Sometimes_Rational writes to mention Apple Inc. formerly (Apple Computer) has announced an agreement with The Beatles' company, Apple Corps Ltd. which settles the lawsuit brought by Apple Corps. Under the new agreement, "Apple Inc. will own all of the trademarks related to 'Apple' and will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use. In addition, the ongoing trademark lawsuit between the companies will end, with each party bearing its own legal costs, and Apple Inc. will continue using its name and logos on iTunes. The terms of settlement are confidential."
Certainly adds fuel to the rumors of the Beatles catalogue (sic) showing up on ITMS.
Karma: It's not just a good idea. It's the law.
.... All you need is love.
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
In other news, the Apple Growers Association of America has recently come under fire...
But it can buy a trademark.
A big hint was dropped during Jobs' keynote address when he played the Beatles on the iPhone. Everything about those presentations is scripted, certainly the addition of Beatles music was no accident. This latest deal might mean that one of the last barriers between the Beatles vast music collection and the iTunes Music Store has been cleared. Whether the Beatles still resist online distribution (through anyone) remains to be seen. They were a late adopter of CDs. Their music, their prerogative.
One thing a lot of people seemed to have missed is that the official John Lennon bus now has an Apple logo on the front side (and has for at least a few weeks if not more):
:)
http://www.jlsc.com/bus/
Image is about halfway down the page.
I wonder what exactly the terms of this settlement were?
One of these days i'm going to find this 'peer' guy and reset HIS connection!
There were rumors going around that Apple would be announcing that the Beatles catalog would be available on iTunes during a Super Bowl commercial. Clearly that did not come to pass. I wonder if this was the root of that rumor, or just a coincidence. Supposedly, Apple WILL be having a special announcement coming up on Feb. 20th.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
This whole lawsuit reminds me of the battle between American Budweiser vs. the Czech brewer Budvar. Fortunately, and rightfully so, the European courts upheld precedent in trademark name on behalf of Budvar. I may be American, but I am a proud Czech first. Stick it to "the man". That's my motto, and I proudly raise my Budvar to it.
I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
"Give us the marks and shut up. In return, we will:
In the alternative, we can crush you in court and drain your bank accounts along the way. Additionally, you could then be sure that you'll never be paid for any Beatles track that travels by Internet."
The Beatles are 40 years old, and need iTMS much more than it needs them.It may not be just, but it is fair, and that is more important.
I'm just imagining how uncomfortable it would make Sir Paul to be in that sandwich.
they settled the lawsuit, which means mutual benefit. no court decision. and no complaining about apple inc. lawyers - and they lost last tiome anyway.
is equal to the love you make.
oops, buy.
oops, negotiate through intermediaries.
the music gets stale after 40 years, i guess.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
If you're even slightly more than a casual Beatles fan, wouldn't you already have all the Beatles music you need. Are there going to be people actually seeking out Beatles songs on iTunes?
There will be, yes. Me for one. I'm not even slightly more than a casual Beatles fan, I'm no form of Beatles fan at all. I like a few tracks that I've heard and that's that. I am, however, pretty curious and might well sample the off track of various albums. I'm not suddenly going to start buying the full collection, and I'd rather get individual tracks than full albums. I'm 35 - the Beatles never happened for me. I always new of them and there'll be many on here younger than me who know their music better, but that's because you actively sort it out. You didn't casually sample it, like I probably would if it appeared online.
Cheers,
Ian
You're living in fantasy land. True, Apple Corps has more to gain in name recognition by being associated with Apple Inc then visa-versa, but the case is a pretty straight forward trademark and contract dispute in which Corps' position is very strong. If the little guy can win against RIM, and RIM actually get an order to stop selling product, then Corp most certainly has the potential to win against Inc.
On top of that, Corp has virtually zero expenses and plenty of income due the still extremely valuable rights to that 40 year old music. It could fight a protracted legal battle with no danger whatsoever of being "crushed."
One more problem. Apple Inc fans are plentiful, but fans of the Beatles are far more plentiful and even far more emotional about the product. Apple Inc could end up looking like a real shit in a lot of people's eyes for picking on the Beatles. Think Different can not compare with Give Peace a Chance and Imagine. Pride does not trump love.
TW
1. Use company's name
2. Get sued
3. Agree to sell their own name back to them
4. Profit!
They're a band that has fans spanning a few generations, and this span keeps getting larger. I'm only 21 and, naturally, missed Beatlemania, but in time I discovered them, and came to deeply love a few of their albums. I'm sure that this independent discovery is common with music fans since the Beatles broke up. Maybe appreciation for them will become a little more rare once they all die off. (Note that I am not trying to curse the last remaining two - live long, Paul and Ringo!)
Trout's epitaph: Life is no way to treat an animal.
This is one of many lawsuits that have been happening since the 80's (remember the Apple IIgs?). It's just a balance of power. In the early days, the Beatles thought that they were bigger than Jesus, and so they sued a little computer company. Now, that little computer company is bigger than the Beatles, and Jesus has an iPod.
Trademark != Patent
The law, the tests required to prove a claim and just about everything about these two types of "intellectual property" are completely different, please stop confusing the two. Just because RIM eventually learnt the hard way that the system is so broken that it's better to just pay the patent trolls doesn't mean the result of the trademark dispute between Apple Corp vs Apple Inc was in any way a forgone conclusion.
Just because they can fight, doesn't mean they want to, they'd much prefer to sell increased volume of that extremely valuable 40 year old music. Copyrighted music actually... speaking of which copyrights actually expire eventually just about everywhere except the USA, so there is a certain expiry date on that value they need to start cashing in on it now.
As far as Apple vs. Beatles fans... well, sure I like the Beatles and all, but really, nothing is forever, and if Apple Corp can't market their product to the young'uns (and how likely are they to go to a store to buy their parents, nay grandparent's, music?) their future is pretty predictable.
l4h
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
Honestly, I don't understand what this is all about. Why are people making such a big deal about the Beatles being available on iTunes? Has everyone suddenly forgotten about this thing called a compact disc? You just pop it in your CD-ROM drive, run CDex to convert the audio files to MP3, then move the files over to your MP3 player! I've done it! It's not so hard! I actually slammed some knucklehead on Engadget who said that he downloaded the Beatles' songs illegally because he couldn't download them legally! WTF? Is this what we've reduced ourselves to? Are physical discs now completely taboo?
Ordering music online? I buy music online that's not on iTunes lots of times! It's called a "compact disc"! Sure, it takes a few days for it to arrive, but when it gets here I can do whatever I want with it, including rip it to MP3 and put it on my MP3 player.
I know, I know. iTunes gives you the ability to download individual songs as well at whole albums. Well, I'm a big Beatles fan and probably 90% of their most popular songs are on the "1962-1966 (Red Album)" and "1967-1970 (Blue Album)" CD sets.
But even if you wanted songs that are not on those two sets, in total we're talking about 13 original albums that were produced. Sure, that would cost a bit of money to buy brand-new CDs online or at brick-and-mortar stores, but what about discount stores? What about used CD stores? What about eBay, for crying out loud? You can get all of the Beatles CDs (used) for probably less than what iTunes will charge, and you'll at least have a physical, DRM-free CD in your hands! Yes, there are certain things where "instant gratification" is required, like insulin to a diabetic. But music is NOT an "instant gratification" requirement to survive! Is it really that hard to wait a few days for a CD to be shipped?
Come on, people! Just because music isn't available on iTunes doesn't mean that it's not available at all! It's absolutely staggering to see that there are actually people out there who refuse to buy a physical disc anymore, and even more staggering to see people act as though iTunes is the only music repository available. Don't you think this whole iTunes thing is being taken a bit too far?
No, this isn't flamebait, damn it, but it is certainly a question of the degradation of patience in this society when we can't wait a few days for a 5-inch piece of reflective plastic to arrive in the mail and we can't look in the phone book for used CD stores in the area.
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
Okay. The Beatles catalog is in Northernsongs, which is de facto owned by Sony unless Michael Jackson starts getting some financial sense. (The financial advice he took from Paul appears to be the last sound financial advice he ever took.) Apple Corp. does own something valuable, though--the Beatles recordings.
To put it another way: if you wanted to record a cover of a Beatles song, or play one in public, you would need to contact Sony, Northernsongs division. If you wanted to use an actual Beatles recording--that is, one actually made by the Beatles--then you would need to contact Apple Corp.
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
The Beatles: "You Never give Me Your Money"
Steve Jobs: "We Can Work it Out."
Beatles: "Don't Let Me Down"
Jobs: "It Won't Be Long"
Beatles: "Money, That's What I Want"
Jobs: "Come and Get It"
Beatles: "I Feel Fine"
"Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine" are not by the Beatles--but they are Apple Records productions. Apple Records does John Lennon's solo work, too.
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
This is potentially huge, as Apple inc. now seems to own the trademark and will license it back to Apple Corps Ltd. Unless I am missing something, this means that Apple can sign bands directly, cutting out the record companies which collect 69 cents on every iTunes dollar.
As online music sales surpass physical media, this has the potential of allowing Apple to take over the record industry. I doubt they want to, but it gives them a great deal of opportunity to expand their iTunes business.
.... All you need is love.
And $8.7 Billion USD in cash. But that's a lot harder to rhyme.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
It's a funny thing, I always used to assume that I'd be an Elvis man, not a Beatles man, you know, the same way that I'm a Kirk man, not a Picard man, and so on. There are some questions that you are on one side, not the other.
And then, thanks to my ipod, I tried listening to Elvis properly, and found to my surprise that I didn't like him that much.
So, logically, I must like the Beatles... and when I listened to them properly, it turns out I do!
One of the interesting things about listening to them properly, is that your first thought is "this sounds so modern" and then your second thought is "ah, because everyone in the world has ripped them off!"
~~~~~ BigLig2? You mean there's another one of me?
Apple Computer: "I wanna hold your hand"
Apple Corps: "Please please me!"
Comp: "Can't buy me love"
Corps: "Money (That's what I want)"
Comp: "Got to get you into my life!"
Corps: "Tell me why?"
Comp: "I want to tell you!"
Corps: "Baby You're a Rich Man!"
Comp: "Act Naturally!"
Corps: "That'll be the Day!"
and finally, years later...
Inc: "Love me do?"
Corps: "Don't let me down"
Inc: "Yes it is?"
Corps: "I will"
Inc: "The End!"
With thanks to http://www.stevesbeatles.com/songs/
Some background info - the 'Beatles' was a band popular in the late Pleistocene epoch. It featured four musicians who used to work in a semiconductor plant (hence their nickname 'Fab Four'). One of them is that guy who's getting divorced. No, not him - the other one. They formed a distribution company called Apple which owned their music before Michael Jackson bought it. Apple was suing Apple over the name Apple (or maybe Marklar), but Apple has settled with Apple and is now free to use Apple.
[Insert pithy quote here]
They don't hold enough data?!
Does iTunes sell lossless iTunes trax?
I'm reasonably sure that there is more data in the vs. of a song on an average commercial CD than there is in the average Fairplay-AAC iTunes sells. You don't get much better, digitally, than CD quality, and so you don't get problems with recompression.
Does the spare harddrive fall under iTunes's 5-computer limit, or is it free?
There is a fine line between recklessness and courage... -- Paul McCartney
Announce that Jobs is on the Apple Corp. board? That's all?! What about a Beatles reunion with Jobs taking John Lennon's slot?
I played in bands starting right around the time the Beatles were being turned down by all the (then) majors, and continued playing for about three decades. I saw a 'modified' Beatlemania sweep through the schools every 5-8 years or so. Did it last and last? No, But anyone familiar with the London scene knows that the average 'mania' lasts about two weeks, on average. England swings, yup, and like a pendulum, the Beatles take an astonishing swing through the ears, hearts, and minds of 'kids' on a very regular basis.
And that's reality
In the early-mid sixties,music, from Classical to pop to jazz, was turned on its ear (so to speak) around the World. Was it ''because' of the Beatles? No, not really. But make no mistake, they were the straw that stirred the drink. My girlfriend's kids (they're 18 and 21, the g-friend is 56) gave me the Beatles "Love" thing (the George martin, Cirque du Soleil piece) for Christmas this year, and the daughter and I trade uot-takes from the whit Album, on a regular basis.
Don't hold yer breath waitin' for them to mosey into olivion, no way.
If only there was some term like "classic rock" that could be used to speak of rock music with the longevity to be considered classic. Oh well, I'm sure yours will catch on.
Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.