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Apple Sues Over iGasm Ads
funkeymonkeyman writes "Apple is less than pleased with an interesting new peripheral for the iPod which promises to 'take your appreciation of music to a whole new level.' Legal action has been taken against Ann Summers, the manufacturers of the new device, specifically for the similarity of the iGasm advertisements to the iconic iPod silhouette ads. The CEO of the adult retail chain replied to the threat cheerily, 'Perhaps I can send them an iGasm to put a smile back on their faces.'"
But iCame.
And suddenly she's going to make a shitload of money because of the lawsuit.
Your sig(k) has been stolen. There is a puff of smoke!
Headline should read:
Apple's usual litigation-trigger-happy attitude has netted an incalculable amount of free publicity to Anne Summers.
I can't really see how Apple can claim some sort of copyright over silhouettes. I mean - the original iPod adds seemed very.... reminiscent of the James Bond opening credits sequences from the 70s.
Perhaps Apple is jealous that the Anne Summers' logo also contains an Apple.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
Rather than sue, Apple can fight fire with fire by introducing the OrgPod.
Table-ized A.I.
Personally, I'm surprised they haven't started suing the iGoatse...which almost makes me wish I had an iPod ;)
Between the falling angel and the rising ape
Doesn't Apple have anything better to do? If anything it will help sale more ipods.
Sex. That is all.
What is the worst thing that can happen?
Have any of you slashgals tried it yet? Does it work, or is it just a gimmick?
Table-ized A.I.
A few years back, RMS released GNU/Gasm, an open source package similar to this one. The only downside was that it only worked with his songs.
My wife bought a MS-Dildows 2.0, but it got stuck in there. We can't get it out until we put a new battery in, but the battery opening is facing inward. I told her before to use Lipnux instead, but she had to go conventional.
Table-ized A.I.
Little pod I see
The screaming, it's so damn loud
Anger or pleasure?
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
... welcome our new iGasm vibrated female colleague overload!
...the OhMiBod vibrator rocks its socks off ;) I got one for my girlfriend for her birthday this year and I've been seeing less of her ever since. http://www.ohmibod.com/
appleguru.org
http://adsoftheworld.com/node/10351/play
Don't
Clikc
It !!!!
Youll be sorry
I'd have to say that the Metallica song whiplash would even make Hilary Clinton smile with this outfit. (turn it up Bill, turn it UP!!!) We might even get lucky, and she'll be so happy that it will keep her out of politics. (one can only wish)
Life was hell, then I discovered Linux...
If she is going to use it for commercial gain then she should get permission period. If she can't they she should get her own ad firm to come up with one for her. What a hack! Another company that can't come up with its own ideas, Microsoft should sue her for Process Pantent infringment, they are the ones that usually steal Apples Ideas.
since we all know that parodies are violations of trademarks
It isn't a parody. It's a direct rip-off intended to sell a product.
...why the Apple silhouette shakes so much.
Again the Streisand effect but with an other twist: while every lawyer by now knows about this phenomenon, they take it into account but still chose legal action is taken to prevent other people to repeat this. What they do not realize yet is that advertisers or product managers will in future even more try to use names and pictures close to successful other pictures in order to use the free publicity from a lawsuit.
But they are trying to form a cultural monopoly... Very much like what Microsoft is doing. But different from Microsoft, in this case at least, they are using the society's negative feelings towards women's sexuality when it is freed of men. It is also interesting to observe how women's sexuality is desirable for Apple (just like for any other corporation) when it is the object of the male gaze, and undesirable when it is depicted as self-governing, hence not needing the presence of a penis.
Back in my day we had to use popsickle sticks, paperclips, and wound-up rubberbands. (That's where the name "whippersnapper" came from.) You young'uns have it easy. Kiss my iShov you spoiled punks!
Table-ized A.I.
read slashdot and you'll be cheered up by the absurdity of it all
Commercial speech doesn't have the same protections as other kinds of speech. Parody isn't a "get out of jail free" card in any case, but "parodying" another company's commercial, AND for a related product, that's a guaranteed losing move.
brings a whole new feel to your "on the go" playlist,
just make sure all your tunes end with a long ritard
Mongrel News all the news that fits and froths
This is about the third time something like this has come up and I can't believe I still haven't seen the alternate name iRod suggested.
Me lost me cookie at the disco.
Here's my new headline for this: Apple's phallus, threatened by self-pleasing woman, sends out lawyers for witch hunt.
I guess a monopoly is a monopoly, whether it is Microsoft or Apple...
Gals, go natural and organic and let me introduce (in) to you my iFuck device. Its free and requires no batteries.
Table-ized A.I.
If you haven't spent much time in the UK, you may not realize that Ann Summers is a major retail chain, with hundreds of sex shops. It's like Victoria's Secret in the US, but harder-core.
specifically designed to cause confusion in the markeplace
Confusion?
If you can't tell the difference between a sex toy & a portable music player, then.... well, let's just say I don't want to borrow your iPod.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
Are you kidding me? Ouch!
GP:Parent:
It must be made for very clean, fresh, practically virginal apples.
Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
What trademark are they infringing then? "Silhouettes in adverts"?
Damn porn filter at work.
Why, yes! I AM new here.
So Apple's new product ISueYou swings into action to counter the IGasm. Meanwhile IGasp and IGawp at the wreckage that follows. ICan'tSeeU struggles with the porn filters at work so can't see the story at all. IRan to my PC catch up on the story but was Iraq'd with guilt afterwards - naah. Okay I should get better puns before posting but I just had to. I'll be going now.
Icepicks, man, icepicks. Now if you'll excuse me I have to track one down myself.
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
Some clarity on TM, at least in US...
You can trademark almost anything that creates a connection in a consumer's mind between a product/service and its origin. Historically this has included logos, words, sounds (Harley Davidson's engine noise), images, even colors (Corningware's "pink" insulation), shapes of products (Weber Grill), type of decoration in a restaurant, called "trade dress" (Taco Cabana).
If whenever you see commercials of a certain "style" and you think "Apple/iPod", then the style is likely trademark material. If another company's using the same style to sell a similar/related product (as opposed to engaging in satire or public comment which is more protected) then I'd put my money on the trademark holder.
Wrong again, at least in the US. Most trademark rights come from using the trademark, not from applying for it. The Trademark office register the mark for you, which gives you some considerable procedural advantages (hence there is a process sort of like patent application that you need to go through), but there's no requirement to register your mark in order to have a trademark. All of which is probably beside the point in this instance, since I bet Apple registered something related to whatever they're suing over.
Where's the male version? Certainly many iPod toting teens would be thrilled to add this feature. If AnnSummers came out with a male version, I might actually shell out $300 for my first iPod.
signature pending slashdot approval
Can the iPhone combine its "play music" and "vibrate instead of ringing" functions? Just asking.
Reduce, reuse, cycle
eg.
t ml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_patent
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/designs/benefits.sh
Not sure how this applies to ads. IANAL.
Nick
But really, why are parodies bad again?
That's just what you get when you try to take on one of Apple's iCons.
sigs are hazardous to your health
Or Beate Uhse in Germany.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
If I remember correctly, this isn't a new product at all is it? Or did they just start advertising this and thats what the problem is? Or my I may just be thinking about some other adult enjoyment product for the iPod all together.
iGasm poster that Apple complained about
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
It's bad enough on its own, but can you imagine the horrific "action shots" featuring out-of-shape wannabe geeks in those... things, if they sold it on ThinkGeek?!
Besides which, it reads "To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before". What happened to the infinitive-splitting "boldly"?- your average nerd *will* complain about such things.
That Ann Summers site is cheesier than a Swiss cheese factory, too.
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
The funny thing is this accessory probably wouldn't have gotten much mainstream notice and might have disappeared in a while. But now Apple has given them a wonderful "helping hand" and probably multplied their sales six-fold.
--
Luck is just skill you didn't know you had.
can you really copyright the feel of a commercial? Whoever was the first to do that comparison test between paper towels with the bar down the middle can make a fortune if this works
The UK's copyright law doesn't provide exceptions for parody (afaik, iAnal)
my daughters' iPods. Right now!
GP is probably alluding to "orifice" = "an opening (as a vent, mouth, or hole) through which something may pass" (according to Webster), which is pronounced roughly the same.
-- Language is a virus from outer space.
Where's the god damned NSFW warning?
"You had this look that of an angel, it was such a bad disguise" --Dishwalla
She loved the one I got her.
It is not parody because they are selling a product. However, I think the prominent "Ann Summers" in the ad is enough to keep them out of trouble.
Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
need to have more of this sort of comment, but you should always try to make a passing mention of Ninjas and Pirates.
I just happened to mention Michael Foucault the other day too, by complete coincidence (I was in the pub of course and someone had already mentioned Hemingway) but Susan Sonntag will always do in a pinch.
Especially on the subject of Anne Summers publicity stunts....
Damn!
Posts, MyBio or Sig, may contain satire, sarcasm, bolded nouns be sardonic or even witty & be Church of SD
Youtube has a video of the iGasm add here. I guess the add is for the UK market. I wonder if it could even be broadcast in the US with our current FCC situation.
"iAnal"
You do? Maybe we should talk.
"Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."
Do they deliver to the US?
I guess I'll have to check the site out a bit more for uh... research. Yeah, that's it, research...
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
You're mistaking the nature of the confusion. No one would think this device is an iPod, but because of the naming scheme (which clones Apple's) and the advertising campaign (which again clones Apple's) it is not unreasonable to assume that some people would think the iPod and this device are made by the same company. That is the confusion. Trademarks are about keeping someone from capitalizing on your good reputation/visibility in the industry.
Now this particular instance is pretty borderline in my view of how trademark law should be applied, but it is not even close to borderline compared to industry standards. The iGasm manufacturers will almost certainly lose if they go to court and they probably know it. This is a way to get free publicity before they capitulate.
On a a side note. Am I the only one that sees a difference between sending a letter and suing a person? The headline of this article is factually incorrect. Apple has not sued. They sent a notice that says they might sue if the IGasm maker does not capitulate. Apple will sue, if they have to... not because they care if someone is selling an iGasm, but because they pretty much have to defend their trademarks. If they let this pass and next week Microsoft renamed the Zune the "iPlayer" and advertised it with similar posters, then Apple would SOL in court because MS could point to this and claim Apple had already let people use a name just as similar and an ad campaign just as similar and the courts would rule for MS, despite the fact that most purchasers would be being deceived.
As far as I can tell, Apple is upset over the copying of the advert, not so much the device itself.
A recent UK Court of Appeal case has significantly narrowed the scope of Trademark protection, essentially stating that the public are savvy enough to recognise that the use of the same trademark in two different markets is not "passing off". However, this defense may be slightly scuppered by the ad, which does attempt a form of "passing off" and association.
The main complaint really seems to be blatant copying of the ad, and is therefore a Copyright issue. As others have stated, parody is not (officially) a defense in UK Copyright law, but taking the mickey has long been recognised unofficially. A classic example was the "Made In Wales" series of adverts which was parodied by the "Not the Nine O'Clock News" comedy show. The parody was so good , that it was alleged the Welsh Development Agency showed them to real potential clients alongside the original adverts. Also the term "Fair Use" does exist in UK law, and this may perhaps be construed to include parody.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
Indeed, the existence of an Apple-branded vibrator was foreseen on the net: the iBrator.
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
but i don't.
iAnal? Is that a seperate product or just an attachment?!
CheShA: Manchester Breakcore / Drill and Bass Yes I'm a s
Hmm. I don't see how your teeth would get cleaner using this product. It may even shake some of your fillings out! Ah... That'll make you go to your dentist, who'll then clean your teeth while you're there fixing your fillings. OK, I see your reasoning now! Never mind.
The view was horrible and the smell was even worse; Julie severely regretted becoming a proctologist.
I'll say. Q_Q
Please stop stalking me, bro.
Did she just (very politely) tell Steve Jobs to stick it up his ass?
As I recall, the same design studio made both the TPS video and the Apple ad, so blame the design firm not Apple. The design firm basically ripped off themselves.
One thing that I noticed was when that "Scandal" broke TPS was on the front page of the iTMS for about a week.
Name calling really won't get you anything but modded down, Apple or not.
Oblig link: Pregnancy Test
But what the hell does this have to do with assembly language? ;-)
I think iBrator would be a better name for it personally...
Apparently she's unafraid to get screwed by an Apple.
Jesus frickin' Christ. This is the second article in three days where Slashdot says someone sued someone else, and all they did was threaten a suit if certain actions weren't taken.
APPLE HASN'T SUED THEM. THEY SENT THEM A LETTER!!
Why is it that Slashdot submitters AND the editors, fail to recognize that to sue someone, YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO FILE A LAW SUIT?!?!?!?!? Just sending a C&D or a strongly worded objection does not qualify as suing someone!!! Dumbass dumbfuck dubmshits!
</rant>
Start a happiness pandemic
Ya know, IANAL, but...
Not that this particular item isn't (likely) true, but hasn't anybody noticed that the first source of the story, no matter where it's linked to, is "News of the World"? In Britain, that's a rag that has about the same believability as, say, the National Enquirer, which is to say, sometimes, if you put out enough unverified crap, some of it turns out to be sort of true.
Usually everyone either uses all caps or all lower case with their acronyms. Selective capitalization could give people the wrong impression, even if you are not lawyer.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Sears recently ran an ad campaign that was a complete rip off of the "switch" apple ads. It's interesting how that was ignored but the iGasm ads call down the thunder. http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/sears/ has an article, unfortunately the video was taken down.
It must be true, the paper is owned by Rupert Murdoch....
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
Apple, the company behind the "PC" ads, ads which denigrate their competitor be using a generic, but well-understood, reference to "Microsoft" - is complaining that someone else is using a generic, but obvious, reference to their own product?
Don't hypocrisy suck?
AIK
I guess I meant 'harder core' in the sense that having sex is harder core than wearing frilly foundation garments. I get your point about prudish Americans with guns being harder core than Britons with vibrators, however my point was that Victoria's Secret in this case is a bad example because marketing aside it is not a sex store but a clothing store; the most they do to facilitate sex is print catalogs and film advertisements. Though some people might argue that technically you need two or more people to call that 'sex'.
steampunk web design
Actually, I think it clearly falls in the "Not a copy, so get bent" exception to copyright law.
BUt cApitalization wIthin a wOrd iS nOt cOvered bY cOpyright.
I am sorry for that post, it was as hard to write as it was to read.
Beware the fury of a patient man
- John Dryden
Janet... Reno... now I will kill myself to stop the mental image that just conjured. Eww...
Beware the fury of a patient man
- John Dryden
NSFW! http://www.gagreport.com/funny_commercials_iporn.h tm
-avi
iGasm ad
Maybe Steve Jobs saw this and thought, "Way Cool, what can we do to help boost sales and sell even more iPods in another niche market?"
Answer: sue them.
Guaranteed instant free publicity. Sex shops selling iPods. Once upon a time in the USA, publishers used to seek out getting their books banned in Boston so they could slap "Banned in Boston" on the cover. It always assured X percent increase in book sales.
These days its lawsuits.
One day a week, I teach music to children in underprivileged areas. This week I met one of my students with their parents in the town centre, and when we walked past Anne Summers, the child's parent remarked, 'See, now they're selling iPods in Anne Summers that vibrate. Filthy [...] things.' This woman isn't the sharpest tool in the box, but my conclusion is that the ads are too similar because average Joes (or Janes) can't tell the difference on first inspection and jump to conclusions about Apple .
Man wird am besten für seine Tugenden bestraft.
I don't believe in reincarnation, but I did in a previous life. Apple TV Converter http://www.apple-tv-converter.net/