Apple Now Allowed to Trademark Apple Store Layout in Europe

This is enough to make you want to beat your head against something until you forget it's actually a thing.

They've got a trademark for arranging tables, people!

"Yeah, well...a lot of thought went into it. They had high priced architects in there to figure out the best way to arrange the tables for the store to flow, and Feng Shui experts to maximize energy towards the products. It's not just..."

YES! IT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE! IT'S ARRANGING TABLES!

The only thing unique about it is that Apple had the audacity to apply for a trademark...AND WON!

THERE IS NO FUTURE FOR OUR SOCIETY! IT IS DUST AND ASH ON THE WIND! DESPAIR, PEOPLE! DESPAIR! FOR ONE DAY, YOU WILL BE SUED FOR YOUR CLEVER DINING ROOM SUITE!

Some of you guys are really overreacting. Also this is a trademark, not a patent. If you can't even tell the difference between those two things, you shouldn't even be commenting on this article.

Legally this makes sense, and it's nothing unique or unusual going on here. It will not be hard for other companies to avoid getting into trouble over this. It will give Apple's lawyers the ability to aggressively fight against fake stores and stores deliberately attempting to exploit Apple's good image for their own gain.

Dreamliner330 said:

Plot twist, Microsoft files first.

iTable, iStool, iStore, iGiveup

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You forgot the radeongate-desk.

mvmanolov said:

Just a small correction to this piece.. it is no longer (and hasn't beed for a couple of years now - since the Lisbon Treaty in December of 2009) called the "European Court of Justice"! (ECJ) the name changed to the "Court of Justice" or the "Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) referring to the combined multi-level judiciary (iow including the "Court of First Instance)... not that it matters much for this piece but only in the interest journalistic accuracy

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As a European law graduate myself, I came across this point many times. While you are of course correct with the change in the Treaty of Lisbon, it is still perfectly acceptable to refer to European Court of Justice when speaking of the appeals court that is now called ‘Court of Justice’. The reason is that the name ‘European Court of Justice’ never formally existed in the Treaty, it was created and used by scholars, practitioners and the like to distinguish it. Calling it CJEU would be inaccurate, as that name comprises all EU courts.

This judgment is a principle judgment with respect to trademarks. The court didn’t rule that Apple should be granted a trademark, but that it is not impossible to trademark a shop layout and that the trademark registrar cannot oppose it on those reasons alone. Apple would still have to convince the trademark registrar that its shop layout is actually distinctive enough.

Mums said:

I pretty much agree. Nobody should be able to trademark minimalism - that's part of the point of minimalism.

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They are not trademarking minimalism. Inability to use trademark is also not part of the point of minimalism btw.

mrxak said:

Some of you guys are really overreacting. Also this is a trademark, not a patent. ...

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Yep - its the staircases that they patent (2007 - straight one, 2013 - circular)

Just to note, this ruling doesn't mean that Apple has a trade mark on its store layout, it just means that the CJEU has ruled that it is allowed to make an application for a trade mark registration. That application may or may not be valid.

dumastudetto said:

This is great news. Everyone knows Apple has created a unique shopping experience that delights all consumers, and nobody should be allowed to shamelessly copy it.

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I hate it, and I know other people who hate it too. Ignorant employees and too many customers is not at all delightful.

John.B said:

The sales staff is a different person than the person doing training or troubleshooting. They even wear different colors. Just because the organization isn't immediately obvious to you (and you can certainly make the case that it's not obvious to the "average consumer") doesn't mean there isn't an organization in place. There is an associate with an iPad whose job is routing you to the right person as you walk in, though they are plenty easy to dodge if you don't care to be bothered.

And yes, as in any busy retail environment, you may have to wait.

Still, it's a problem most retailers would love to have.

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Waiting isn't the issue. It is the chaotic mess that mixes sales and pre-sales into one lump.

I am aware there are different people to do different jobs. The routing person sends you to somebody that already has four or five people hovering around waiting. Not all of those people have cash in hand ready to purchase. So instead of waiting for a few transactions you have to wait while they explain the products to the customer.

If they had even a single POS station you could choose if you wanted to stand in line or take your chances with the floor staff. I'm ready to make my purchase and go. I don't need to hear about the pros and cons of each and every earbud on the display wall.

Case in point: I ordered a MacBook Pro online and went down to the store after I got a confirmation email that it was ready and waiting. It took 45 minutes before somebody could pull themselves from the floor to hand it to me - I had already paid for it online. They passed me from associate to associate before somebody was able to walk to the back. Even if I had had to stand in a checkout line it would have been a better experience.

Unfortunately you can't self checkout big ticket items.