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Apple, New York City In Legal Dispute Over Logo

Posted by Zonk on from the oh-our-wacky-trademark-system dept.

Lemmy Caution writes "Apple, Inc. has filed a suit to prevent New York City's non-profit 'GreeNYC' initiative from using a logo that incorporates an apple in its design. Commentators have noted the substantial differences between the two designs, not to mention the irony of this sort of infringement claim. The city of New York has filed to have the claim rejected, and even possibly the cancellation of Apple's logo in light of the long history of the nickname 'The Big Apple' to describe the city."

10 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. I REALLY hope Apple wins... by Cedric+Tsui · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I REALLY hope Apple wins and NYC's logo is thrown out.
    There's no one better suited to start rolling back absurd property rights than a city full of pissed off politicians.

    1. Re:I REALLY hope Apple wins... by k2enemy · · Score: 5, Informative

      I think you may have misunderstood the parent. Of course Apple's claim is ridiculous, but with the current state of intellectual property law, Apple has a possibility of winning. This by itself would be BAD, but it may prompt politicians to do something about reforming IP law.

    2. Re:I REALLY hope Apple wins... by mattgoldey · · Score: 5, Funny

      Damn, dude. An apostrophe doesn't mean "Look out, here comes an S!"

    3. Re:I REALLY hope Apple wins... by omega_dk · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well, that might be true... if there were a lawsuit involved at all.

      Hey /.! How about posting about 'filing suit' when it actually happens, and not when someone lacks basic reading comprehension? Not even in TFA does it mention a legal dispute; it says it filed a challenge to NYC's trademark application.

      I believe this article needs to be tagged 'adaylateandadollarshort'

      --
      Just because you don't like the truth, does not make it false.
  2. In other news by shadowofwind · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hasbro sues Idaho over infrignement on Mr. Potato Head brand

    1. Re:In other news by thegnu · · Score: 5, Funny

      It took me 15 seconds to realize that this wasn't portuguese.

      --
      Please stop stalking me, bro.
  3. Re:What graphics artists have said... by the_humeister · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's like saying that cars look alike because they have a hood, driver/passenger doors, trunk, and 4 doors. There are only so many ways to draw an apple before it stops looking like an apple. These logos are clearly nothing alike in the ways that matter.

  4. Re:Apple may actually have a case by Kalriath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What the hell is that designer on? The curve of the Apple logo isn't even close to the curve of the NYC apple!

    If you were to remove the Apple logo, I wouldn't even see the resemblence (because there isn't one). I hope Apple gets crushed in court.

    --
    For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
  5. Re:Apple may actually have a case by inflex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Only reason they appear 'close' according to that 'designer' is because of the limited resolution and a big slice of wishful thinking. There's a lot of differences in the curve outline between the two;

    * the right hand bottom/mid side where the infinity symbol bulges out
    * the right hand top side the infinity logo again is on the inside of the apple logo
    * the left hand side the curve infinity symbol is on the -inside- of the apple logo
    * the bottom bumps of the infinity curve have a lesser curvature

    Sorry, but that guys reasoning of similarities is about as useful as saying "If you squint, then this Ford car looks clearly like this Chevy, see, it even has 4 wheels!".

  6. To the original submitter of this article -- by Ignis+Fatuusz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Please cite a reliable source that says Apple has 'filed suit' against anyone regarding this matter. You can't? I didn't think so. Apple has filed a formal opposition to a trademark application, which it must do in order to actively defend its trademark. Whether it's successful or not is irrelevant. Engadget explains the issue in detail here: http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/03/apple-vs-nyc-whats-really-going-on/ I'm not sure what disappoints me more - the sensationalist tone of the submitted piece, or the overwhelming knee-jerk reaction of folks jumping on Apple for something they didn't actually do.