In a real-life apples-to-oranges comparison, Apple convinced the European Intellectual Property Office to partially refuse to grant a trademark, all because it was too close to Apple’s logo.
Apple’s lawsuits cover many important and boring areas, such as patent infringement. However, Apple’s litigation activities can sometimes take quite unusual directions.
The latest concerns Apple’s opposition to the filing of a trademark in the EU by keyboard manufacturer Yichun Qinningmeng Electronics Co. Woozad reports that Apple told the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) that the Chinese keyboard company’s logo was too close to Apple’s logo.
Instead of an apple, the offending logo was that of a circular citrus fruit with a single leaf on top, as well as a removed section on the right side. In the middle of the fruit were segments and squares resembling keys on a keyboard.
Apple told the EUIPO that the citrus fruit resembled an apple because it was a fruit with a leaf and a bite mark. The EUIPO disagreed, as the product resembled an orange due to its mainly circular shape, as well as its triangular shapes resembling segments and not really that of an apple.
The EUIPO recognized, however, that while there were many differences, some similarities remained. They could be considered “visually similar, although to a very small extent.”
That said, the EUIPO remains on Apple’s side on the issue. Apple’s reputation in the EU was a major factor, and consumers could look at the orange and make a “mental connection” between the two companies.
The EUIPO agreed with Apple that the orange logo was likely an attempt to use Apple’s goodwill for its own purposes. Since Yichun Quinningmeng may offer products similar or identical to Apple’s in the future, consumers may “wrongly assume” that there is a connection with Apple itself.
This is a partial success for Apple, but an important success, because it prevented the use of this citrus fruit as a trademark in the EU for computer products. However, the EUIPO still allowed the app to continue to be used with solar panels.
The EU was not the only place where the trademark fight was taking place, as a similar battle took place in the United States. In this case, Yichun Quinningmeng failed to oppose the complaint, thus giving up the battle.
Fight against logos
This is far from the first time Apple has faced other entities in trademark disputes over logo design.
In 2019, he opposed a logo for the Norwegian Progress Party, which used the image of an apple with an F motif in the middle.
In 2023, she continued a six-year fight against Fruit Union Suisse, which depicted a red apple with a white cross. The union used the image for many years previously, but updated the design in 2011 to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
As in the last incident, the fighting also involved other forms of fruit.
In 2020, Apple objected to a pear-shaped logo used by the Prepear app. The app revised the design slightly in 2021, after entering into settlement negotiations.