Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday August 12 2020, @12:38PM   Printer-friendly
from the fruit-fight dept.

'Bullying' Apple fights couple over pear logo

When Natalie Monson started her food blog 11 years ago, she didn't expect to end up embroiled in a fight with the world's most valuable company.

But the US small business owner is now battling Apple for the right to use a pear in the logo on her recipe app.

In a patent filing, Apple said the image was too similar to its own logo and would hurt its brand.

Ms Monson says the tech giant is simply "bullying" and she feels a "moral obligation" to fight back.

More than 43,000 people have already signed the petition she and her husband Russ, owners of the Super Healthy Kids website, created last week to try to pressure the company to back down.

Also At:
Apple wants this recipe app to stop using a pear in its logo
Apple object to Prepear logo trademark, 'terrifying' small business owners
Apple vs Prepear: Besides Pear, There are Atleast 10 Other Companies Using Fruit Logos, Will Apple Come After Them Too?
Apple objects to trademark registration application of a recipe app; Here's why


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by HiThere on Wednesday August 12 2020, @01:53PM (2 children)

    by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 12 2020, @01:53PM (#1035531) Journal

    IIUC, this is not a suit, this is a letter to the trademarks commission saying the logos are too similar. There is no judge or trial involved. The trademark commission just has to look at the logos and decide whether they are too similar.

    And Apple is required to "defend their trademark", though the requirement in this case is highly dubious. They aren't very similar.

    This isn't a case of Apple being obnoxious (though it is a case of some lawyers in their hire being obnoxious). It is, however, an example of how the system is rigged against small companies. The two companies aren't even in the same market, so there was absolutely no reason for Apple to file this complaint, but lawyers need to justify being on retainer (or salary). And the small company needs to divert attention to deal with this.

    --
    Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Informative=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 13 2020, @03:05AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 13 2020, @03:05AM (#1035963)

    They are required to defend their trademark, but the site has been in operation for over a decade. They didn't in all that time notice it? That alone ought to be sufficient to get them off the hook as Apple seems to have taken its sweet time sending the paperwork in. Really, Apple is just a bully and a monopolist and it's far past time that they were crushed for their antics.

    • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday August 13 2020, @04:40AM

      by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 13 2020, @04:40AM (#1035995) Journal

      You're seeing them as too monolithic. I would strongly guess that Apple management wasn't even aware of this letter until after people started making noises about it.

      --
      Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.