Apple Threatens Bistro Over "AppleADay" Name 301
itwbennett writes "In today's edition of David v. Goliath, Apple lawyers have sent cease and desist letters to a tiny health food restaurant in Luxembourg named AppleADay. For their part, the owners of AppleADay, with help from a lawerly friend, have promised that they would continue to sell only food, not computers. Of course, Apple knows as well as anyone that promises are made to be broken, having famously promised Apple Corps, the Beatles' production company, they would never get into the music business."
They should change their name (Score:5, Funny)
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AppleRGay
And then they could use a rainbow apple for a logo ...
Why are they such assholes? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Better watch out, I hear your local grocery store has hundreds if not thousands of violators out back...
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Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:5, Informative)
Trademark lawyer, not patent lawyer.
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a trademark issue, not a patent issue. Trademark owners have to defend it or risk losing it.
That, of course, won't stop the Slashdotters from freaking out over nothing. Notice the article was submitted by the ITWorld author who wrote it. He knew exactly what he was doing and how this readership would react. It's all about page views. This story isn't even new; it dates back to late August.
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This is a trademark issue, not a patent issue. Trademark owners have to defend it or risk losing it.
That, of course, won't stop the Slashdotters from freaking out over nothing. Notice the article was submitted by the ITWorld author who wrote it. He knew exactly what he was doing and how this readership would react. It's all about page views. This story isn't even new; it dates back to late August.
Name and logo, have you looked, are not very close.
This is a very big stretch of "confusion" concern.
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Wouldn't you only have to defend it in the same industry the trademark is registered in? Unless Apple has a registered trademark in the food service industry (or whatever it's classified as) I can't see how the would risk loosing their trademark. By this logic they need to sue AppleBees as well.
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It depends on how the other business files their trademark. Yes, it's obvious they are not a computer maker, but if they file for their trademark to cover all trade areas then that's when Apple can say "wait, you'll infringe if you are in the computer area".
The same thing happened a couple of years ago with Woolworth Australia I think, or someone like that, as a grocery store with an apple for a logo who filed a broad trademark covering many business areas.
There's nothing to stop you starting a restaurant c
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freaking out over nothing
So nothing happened? And the fact that they have to try to appear to be defending their trademarks by law doesn't mean that people have to agree with that law (or their actions). You just end up with things like this that a lot of people don't seem to agree with.
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This is a trademark issue, not a patent issue. Trademark owners have to defend it or risk losing it.
Total BS.
If you have a trademark over "Apple" in the context of computers/music, you DO NOT have to sue a restaurant with the word "Apple" somewhere in its name to protect it.
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Are you saying this is an example of the system functioning as intended?
Because that's even worse than if GP is correct.
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New York better watch out for an infringement lawsuit, too. :p
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:4, Informative)
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I know... and you're not going to hear too many apple fans backing this action up either. I happen to know the saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" (the saying this shops derives its name) predates the birth of both of Apple's original creators... possibly by more than 100 years. The lawyers who signed their names to any papers associated with this frivolous and aggressive C&D need to have their credentials reviewed.
I think it is more than reasonable to presume that somewhere along the line,
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Man, I hate such lawyers as much as every other decent person... but in this case, isn't it someone in Apple's management that hired them? That's the guy (or girl) who needs a little attitude adjustment on the head, and who's responsible for this PR fiasco.
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:4, Informative)
Windows® wasn't revoked. And they only feared that because "Windows" was a common word in the domain. "Apple" in the computing domain isn't.
Besides, Apple was already sued because of their trademark [wikipedia.org].
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The story is 6 months old [lesoir.be] and there have been no updates from Appleaday since though there's been plenty of news stories about it. A good advertisement you say, hmmm.
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:5, Insightful)
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"apple: an asshole a day ruins computing in every way"
go ahead apple, sue my ass. you can have all my savings, all $103.53 worth.
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I heard the iconic Mac startup sound file was initially called "sosume" because of their lawsuit with the Beatle's company back in the day as they were afraid it might constitute music production or some such. I may have seen that article on hear a while back, actually.
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Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:4, Informative)
They're not "assholes." They have to exert effort in defending their trademark or risk losing it.
This is not true in this context. They only have to defend it where relevant. Going after a tiny health food restaurant is not, unless Apple have plans to enter into that market.
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:5, Insightful)
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The fact that ITWorld submitted it somehow excuses Apple's asshole behavior?
Nobody can use "An Apple A Day" anymore?
Just because they stole their trademark from the Beatles and got away with it, (with the promise that they would not use it for music), it's theirs now?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sosumi [wikipedia.org]
My Gawd, fanbois will stop at nothing to defend any slight against their precious church.
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The fact that ITWorld submitted it somehow excuses Apple's asshole behavior?
Nobody can use "An Apple A Day" anymore?
I don't think anyone said that.
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Just because they stole their trademark from the Beatles and got away with it, (with the promise that they would not use it for music), it's theirs now?
Apple Inc. paid Apple Corps about a nine digit sum for ownership of all of Apple Corps' trademarks, so it seems you are talking out of your arse.
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As part of a settlement to the second lawsuit they Apple Corps launched against Apple Inc, after they violated the first settlement.
So yeah, I'd consider that theft. If you steal an apple from the store, and pay for it after being arrested for theft as part of a plea agreement, its still theft in my book.
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Hmm, I have reason to believe you're one of the assholes who goes around moding down every comment you can find that's even slightly against Apple. I see it by the way you're defending them even when they are obviously being assholes, as in RIAA suing Girl Scouts level of asshole and your friend/enemy structure.
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:4, Insightful)
That old saw doesn't get any smarter with age.
Personally, I got a lot more radical and left-leaning after I retired in 2007, because with the pressure to have to go out and earn a living every day lifted from me at age 50, I could really view the system more objectively. I wasn't afraid any more the way working people in America are required to be afraid. I realized just how much most people who work for a living and yet call themselves "conservatives" are suffering from the same disorder that keeps a battered woman married to, and even sticking up for, her abuser.
I hope you live long enough and gain enough perspective to see it the way I've seen it.
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Personally, I got a lot more radical and left-leaning after I retired in 2007, because with the pressure to have to go out and earn a living every day lifted from me at age 50, I could really view the system more objectively..
Don't know how to say it without sounding trollish, but honestly, I daresay that you've only swapped your old fears for new ones, and the new ones happen to be left-leaning.
Now, instead of worrying about a job, you have to worry about healthcare (as older folks tend to be far more frequent consumers of it). It also comes up that any means to avoid having to pay outrageous amounts to get that healthcare (even if the government pays it on your behalf) is probably going to sound a lot more appealing to you now
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:4, Insightful)
No, I can afford healthcare. My worry is about health not health care.
Not yet. I'm still more than a decade away from those things. I won't need Social Security to live unless there is a catastrophe of such magnitude that Social Security wouldn't matter anyway.
You think you won't get old and infirm? I study and teach Chinese martial arts. My teacher is 87 and has such an optimistic view of his own life that he just planted plum trees in his yard, despite the fact that they won't bear fruit for 10-15 years. Now that's a worldview I emulate.
My only fear is for my daughter's future, and that, friend, is something that focuses one's attention on current affairs like nothing else. I never worried much about politics or economics while I was working. I was too busy making a living. There is a reason why in most cultures, older people are respected and their opinions are sought. Now in my mid-50s, I'm sort of too old to be young and too young to be old. But I've got energy, literacy, and the time to pay attention.
Now, having said all that, there's no fool like an old fool, so I try to remember that I'm usually full of shit.
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And in addition to the fact that they have paid their dues,
Notice that the grandparent post states that he retired at 50 so he probably contributed taxes for less than 30 years and meaningful taxes for less than 15. Given that he's already made it to 54, he'll probably live to 80. You cannot expect to work for only 30 years out of 80 and expect other people to finance you for the other 50. So of course he migrated to the left. He wants to make sure that the government trough he's eating out of stays well stocked.
US existed before social security and medicare and that we came up with those programs for a reason.
Nice binary world you live in -- the choice betwe
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Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."
Funny how rote, meaningless phrases tend to stick around for so long... well, maybe because they serve to substitute actual thought, justifying certain points of view.
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:4, Insightful)
FTFY
Re:Why are they such assholes? (Score:4, Funny)
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
This just in! (Score:5, Funny)
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I'm putting my money on Apple, Mother Nature's screwed. No more apples for us :(
Mother Nature is, if nothing else, tenacious. She'll simply rename Poo as Apples and Apples as Poo.
"How ya like your new iPood?"
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Mother Nature has this one covered. They're to be called the non-citrtussy-roundish-things-that-are-great-at-keeping-doctors-away, N-CRT-TAGA-KDA for short, and will be sold by The Pirate Party for a small fee.
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We could rename them to "liberty pears"...
I'm partial to Freedom Fruit!
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Next in line: Oracle sues Mother Nature for making a star named Sun.
Larry Ellison is rumored to be working on a time machine, so he can go back to Delphi, about 2,800 years ago, to sue Apollo for speaking through an unauthorised Oracle (without a licence, no less!)
Apollo is rumored to have been preparing a strong defence, including a handful of lightning bolts, and his own attorneys, those failing.
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+1
Is AppleHole a word yet? (Score:5, Funny)
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And tomorrow on News Hour with Fluffeh... (Score:2)
Apple lawyers contact a farmer in Texas about his infringement for having "Apples" on his inventory when they have exclusive distribution rights.
In related news, Apple contacted the Indian government about possible product dilution of their Siri software. Although even Apple had to admit that a Sari wasn't exactly the same pronounciation, they requested that the garment be renamed to something that wouldn't be so close to stave off any possible trouble down the line.
Thanks for watching, enjoy the movie...
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I'd suggest you put that on ICHC with Chemistry Cat reading it as a news bulletin, but I might get sued by The Onion for patent infringement on Over-Satirizing the point.
Upset about commentary... (Score:2)
Maybe they're just pissed that someone is referring to the reliability and longevity of their PowerPC and Performa lines from back in the day...
At least they didn't name the restaurant "Road Apples [lowendmac.com]"...
They have to (Score:5, Informative)
First, this story is months old and dates back to late August. Second, contrary to the headline, they're not threatening over the "AppleADay" name but the logo [macgeneration.com].
Third, as is pointed out every time an incident like this occurs, trademark owners have to take no chances and must enforce perceived violations or risk losing their right to it. There is always the risk that a court somewhere in the world might cite the lack of action in some particular case. But, since it's a "David v. Goliath" article, as the summary put it, it's an excellent story to submit to Slashdot and rile up the natives.
Re:They have to (Score:5, Insightful)
To my untrained eye, I have a hard time seeing how they could sue over the logo. It looks nothing like the Apple Computer, Inc. logo! I realize your intentions were to attempt to absolve Apple of wrongdoing, but I think that link has succeeded in helping me decide that this suit is/was even more petty than I gleaned from TFA.
Yes, there's the issue of trademark dilution, but I think this is far beyond ridiculous.
I understand! (Score:4, Insightful)
Seeing the supposedly infringing logo, I understand:
It looks nothing like the Apple Computer logo, but IT LOOKS BETTER!
Apple wants it.
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no one REASONABLE would think that's an apple computer co logo.
sorry, but this does not fit reasonable defense definition.
suing over that logo is a joke, in itself.
my boycott of apple still stands. stuff like this only causes me to dig in even further.
Re:They have to (Score:5, Insightful)
It looks like...a drawing of an apple. Hard to depict an apple without it looking like an apple.
But there are significant differences. Hollow, 2 leaves on top, no bite out of the right side, different color.
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Third, as is pointed out every time an incident like this occurs, trademark owners have to take no chances and must enforce perceived violations or risk losing their right to it.
So where's the lawsuit against Applebee's [yourlogoresources.com] since that apple looks a lot more like Apple (Inc.)'s logo [wikimedia.org] than AppleADay's logo?
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So where's the lawsuit against Applebee's [yourlogoresources.com] since that apple looks a lot more like Apple (Inc.)'s logo [wikimedia.org] than AppleADay's logo?
This. I was fastforwarding through commercials on my DVR the other day, and I thought I saw an add containing a burning Apple logo.
It was the Applebee's logo.
So, where's the lawsuit against Applebee's, Apple? If you just glance at them, they really do look identical.
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Thus, Apple has clearly abandoned their trademark as they are not defending it against a know usage.
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Apple need to defend their trademark *in the relevant area*.
One assumes that they are aware of AppleBees, and that AppleBees' trademarks are only in the food service sector.
If the trademark applied for in the case of this new place, way back in the mists of time (this story is ancient, and has been posted with a troll summary for page hits and ad revenue) was too broad (ie, that it covered several areas, including computers/IT without it needing to) then Apple are obligated to defend their own trademark or
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it sure makes for a juicy snack for the rabid, frothing neckbeards while they wait for their moms to microwave some more Hot Pockets
Some of us can't manage to grow neckbeards :(
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Third, as is pointed out every time an incident like this occurs, trademark owners have to take no chances and must enforce perceived violations or risk losing their right to it.
You are right about this, but surely they'd be exempt from this just on the grounds that this a restaurant.
Class of Service (Score:2)
When you register a trademark, you have to select which class(es) of service the goods or services your company sells should cover. This seems to imply to me that a trademark only covers those classes of service, so unless Apple Inc registered their trademark for selling actual fruit, I don't understand how this works under the law. Why even have classes of service if company's are going to claim trademark infringement willy nilly on any classes of service, even ones they don't offer?
Trademarks (Score:2)
I'm a bit confused, I thought trademark law were pretty cut and dry when it came to names. That as long as the products or businesses are in different markets, there can not be a case.
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Depends how broad the trademark filing is - if it was thrown out like a blanket, and happens to cover the areas where Apple already has a trademark, they are going to have to defend their own against it.
They don;t have a trademark in the food sector.
This happened with another store a few years ago with an apple for a logo, who applied for a blanket trademark across all areas, requiring Apple to defend their trademark in the computing sector.
Counselor, counsel thy client! (Score:2)
Maybe someone should advise Apple that being seen as a bully is not very fashionable.
AppleADay Inc. (Score:2)
You never know, that small business in Luxemburg just might transform itself to the largest corporation in the world. I think Apple is just hedging it bets on this one.
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so why has apple not sued apple orchards and picki (Score:2)
so why has apple not sued apple orchards and picking places as well?
Slow newsday ? (Score:5, Insightful)
Orignal story dates from the 5th of may [lesoir.be] (6 month old stories now Slashdot, really ?) There was a flurry of news reporting and no updates since then, not even on their Facebook page [facebook.com] where the restaurant gleefully displayed its new found notoriety. So I'm guessing it turned out to be very much a non-story played up for advertising value.
It sounds silly, and like a lost cause... (Score:2)
It's happened before, though. Some time back, I remember reading an article
What!? Apple is a greedy company? (Score:2)
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I thought Jobs "thought different" and Apple should be worshiped!
Apple, Inc. (formerly Apple Computer) is not thinking much different from most idiotic practices of idiotic companies.
I expect, as the article doesn't delve into anything much presently going on, from the Apple, Inc., end there may have been a "whoa, there, pard!" issued from Cupertino to the feisty lawyers. Crush a hapless little bistro and you may find riots in front of Apple Stores across Europe - not the kind of "ooo, shiny!" they're going for.
Apple Arrogance (Score:2)
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Look up trademark law and you'll....
oh never mind.
sure sure, Apple = evil. Got it.
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For Apple to even start this tells me that Apples own lawyers should look up trademark law.
Yellow Journalism (Score:2)
It appears to me that this whole thing is just another attempt to get you all riled up about big bad Goliath...
TFA is incredibly weak, lacking any sort of details...
Consider that the restaurant may have been using a different logo earlier?
Irony (Score:2)
I just sent this story to someone and got this reply:
They are piece of shit assholes
Sent from my iPhone
Awesome journalism (Score:3)
The submitter, who works for itworld, sent a link to slashdot with an itworld article that has no source material nor citations of where the story was sourced. The only actual journalism that anyone has done on this appears to come from:
http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/en/luxembourg/articles/2011/05/149560/index.php [www.wort.lu]
This is the link that should have been posted. Seriously, it took me less than a minute to vet this.
Re:This is what happens... (Score:5, Funny)
Yes. Clearly, the optimal solution is to remove lawyers' hands at once.
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the problem is a lawyers hands is the least dangerous part of their body.
cutting out their tongue is a much better solution.
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Yes. Clearly, the optimal solution is to remove lawyers' hands at once.
Why remove the hands? Those are still useful. I suggest removing the lawyers, and keeping the hands.
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when lawyers have too much time on their hands.
Time on their hands? I thought they would be busy with Google/Android?
Though I'm certain a tiny little bistro couldn't hope to hold out in the long run, there's always that David vs. Goliath thing which grabs attention.
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Not quite fair.
Apple became the IP trolls during the last few years of Steve running it. Probably coinciding with his realization that he really screwed up when he put his faith in non scientific medicine, and effectively sentenced himself to a slow disgraceful death.
He were incapable of blaming himself, so he had to take out his newfound level of hatred and self-loathing on everybody else.
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Oh, and maybe the judge had an iPad, and had been infected with the dreaded disease "pomum ipodus fanboyus maximus", thus been rendered incapable of perceiving Apple as having done anything wrong.
Gump was confused (Score:2)
But then he made a boatload off his confusion.
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Renegotiated after the lawsuit for breaking their promise, sure.