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Who Owns The Word Apple?
In a perfect world, nobody.
But I guess we don't live in a perfect world.
Apple is a word.
It describes a fruit that has allegedly been around since adam and eve's time, assuming there were people called adam and eve.
It also is the name of a computer company.
And its the name of the company that is owned by Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and the estate of George Harrison and which owns the rights to the beatles' music.
And whomever is making the decisions regarding the beatles' rights to the name apple thinks they have to sue apple the computer company over trademark violations.
This is all so silly.
Because in my world, apple is a fruit.
March 29, 2006 Venture Capital and Technology | Comments (16) | TrackBack (2)
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Comments
in my world the nonsense leads to a good buying opportunity in the stock. But i agree - nonsense.
Posted by: howard Lindzon | Mar 29, 2006 11:21:08 PM
Wait a second, Fred. You may have a point in arguing that its stupid to sue over the Apple trademark since there's no confusion or loss of value that results from the computer company using the word that is also the name of the Beatles' record label.
But in this case, as I understand it, Apple signed a prior agreement not to use the Apple trademark to market music, and then went ahead and used the Apple trademark to market music anyway! When Microsoft violates a consent decree it signs, everyone jumps up and down and yells "evil empire" and all that. But when Apple violates an agreement, the other party should just ignore it?
Posted by: Jason Chervokas | Mar 29, 2006 11:29:15 PM
i guess that is right Jason, but i just hate that we live in a world where someone can own the rights to the word apple.
Posted by: fred | Mar 29, 2006 11:48:47 PM
Wasn't the former Beatles company originally called 'Apple Core' also? I am surprised there are not lawsuit from the creators of 'Appleseed' (movie), Fiona Apple, the entire state of Washington and Johnny the seed spreader. I listen to the Beatles at least once almost every day (honestly). They are a band that will never leave my music collection, but in all honesty this is a pretty pathetic financial coat tail ride they are trying to land on. I don't know which part tried to initiate it, but it is pretty silly.
Posted by: Cyanbane | Mar 30, 2006 1:19:41 AM
ya like apples? how do ya like them apples?
Posted by: Charlie Crystle | Mar 30, 2006 1:22:40 AM
Does this mean that if Apple Martin (Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter with Coldplay singer) goes on to become a singer und er her own first name... she could get sued by the Beatles?
Posted by: Heleen | Mar 30, 2006 3:05:51 AM
Don't tell Gwyneth Paltrow.
Posted by: Bob M | Mar 30, 2006 6:23:06 AM
Let's revise those lyrics:
"All you need is love (and a good trademark attorney). All together, now!"
Posted by: greg | Mar 30, 2006 9:28:55 AM
I agree with Fred that they should Let It Be, and maybe Paul and company should tell Jobs and company We Can Work It Out, but what do I know - I'm just a Day Tripper.
In the end though, Jason is technicaly correct.....as usual.
Newman!
Posted by: jackson | Mar 30, 2006 8:40:06 PM
Small, minor, ridiculous point: the forbidden fruit mentioned in the bible likely wasn't an apple (if it was a fruit at all, which I doubt). Wikipedia sez:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_fruit
"Popularly, the fruit has been identified as an apple (perhaps as a Latin pun of 'malus' sounding like 'evil' and 'apple'), although the Bible does not identify the fruit as an apple. Judaism teaches that the fruit may have been either grape, fig, wheat, or citron."
onward...
Posted by: Terry Bain | Mar 31, 2006 4:10:44 PM
fred, do none of your portfolio companies file patents and trademarks and copyrights? come on, put your money where your blog is -- make it a condition that any company funded by union square must forego intellectual property protection.
also, how do you feel about identity theft? if i understand your logic, why should anyone have the right to own -- or be -- "fred wilson"? at what point does "apple" stop being a defensible legal concept yet "fred wilson" remains one?
Posted by: steve | Mar 31, 2006 7:17:11 PM
steve,
i do not, will not, and cannot demand such things from my portfolio companies. that said, i urge all of them to avoid offensive use of IP. if it were up to me, there would be no patents in software and services. i think they stifle innovation and the patent office is completely and utterly idiotic in its issuance of patents for stuff that is completely based on prior art.
as for identity theft, i could care less. there are plenty of people named fred wilson who are more important than me; an artist, a chess master, and a rock band. fred wilson isn't and shouldn't be defensible.
i feel the same way about the content on this blog. anyone who uses it "cleanly" meaning not involving pornography and hate speech is free to take it and do whatever they want with it.
Posted by: fred | Mar 31, 2006 8:54:14 PM
that said - would you invest in a company that was accused of patent infringement - ie - felt it had a defensible position.
Posted by: howard Lindzon | Apr 1, 2006 12:22:29 AM
This is the good part of trademark law, the goal of avoiding commercial confusion to protect reputations and ensure that the appropriate punishments are meted out to malefactors (i.e. which Bob's trucking of Kenosha destroyed your car and robbed you? which Sony Music put a surreptious file on your computer and opened a backdoor for spyware?).
Apple Comp is deservedly screwed, given that they've already lost on this point to this same company. This is black letter law, across almost all jurisdictions, and there are very few remotely plausible justifications for Apple Comp. Thankfully Stev J has come into a few billion, so he should be ok to right the big honking check.
Posted by: annextraitor | Apr 1, 2006 1:25:02 AM
fred, well said.
but when you say you urge companies to avoid "offensive use of IP", well, there's the rub. "offensive" by whose standards? yours? mine? jay walker's? ebay's? jack abramoff's?
my company is being sued for alleged patent infringment and, big surprise, such is extremely offensive to us. and we are vigorously and hopefully effectively arguing our innocence, etc. but even in our most frustrated moments, we have to admit the plaintiff in our case has the lawful right to sue, and while we loath the litigation, we can't with a clear conscience loath the plaintiff. as a company which actively, lawfully, continuously creates intellectual property, we do not want to exist in a marketplace or society where property rights are adjudicated on arbitrary or emotional criteria such as, say, whether one party or another is "offended". if nothing else, in any such a marketplace, the big companies will always crush the little companies, because without recourse to law, little companies do not have sufficient resources to win wars of attrition.
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Posted by: becca | May 31, 2007 11:23:54 PM
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