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Apple Sued for App Store Logo's Resemblance to Chinese Clothing Brand Logo
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This would probably hold up as prior art in a court in the US or Europe. That said, this is China, so don’t expect the courts there to be sympathetic.Apple has been using the logo way longer than that. Check out this screenshot of MacOS 10.0, from 2001 (notice the "Applications" icon):
The recent change is a natural evolution of that design. There's no way they should win.
EDIT: And yes, that is Internet Explorer.
As a fan of the old Skeumorphic Apple UI design, I wouldn't mind going back, but a claim for this seems odd.
I think it's safe to say that this is unintentional, seeing as Apple just de-skeuomorphed the logo they've been using since 10.0. Intent is an important test in infringement cases.
We're effectively talking about being able to trademark the lettershape of "A" now though. Whether or not a court decides that this trademark is inherently distinctive is to be determined. I'd argue that it isn't inherently distinctive in it's present form for either party. Also, providing evidence of confusion will be challenging for KON.
That said, these are Chinese courts, so who knows?!
I think it's safe to say that this is unintentional, seeing as Apple just de-skeuomorphed the logo they've been using since 10.0. Intent is an important test in infringement cases.
We're effectively talking about being able to trademark the lettershape of "A" now though. Whether or not a court decides that this trademark is inherently distinctive is to be determined. I'd argue that it isn't inherently distinctive in it's present form for either party. Also, providing evidence of confusion will be challenging for KON.
That said, these are Chinese courts, so who knows?!
Lol what a joke. They’re gonna lose tho because it’s in china
When Apple released the updated App Store as part of iOS 11, the App Store logo got an overhaul. Instead of an "A" made from a pencil, a paintbrush, and a ruler, Apple designed a simpler "A" that looks like it's constructed from popsicle sticks.
As it turns out, Apple's App Store logo bears a resemblance to the logo used by a Chinese clothing brand named KON, and now KON is suing Apple.
According to Phone Radar (via The Verge), KON believes Apple's new logo is a violation of Chinese copyright law. KON is a brand that's been around since 2009, and as The Verge discovered, Baidu Baike, the Chinese equivalent of Wikipedia, says the KON brand was inspired by music like the Sex Pistols, with the logo meant to represent three skeleton bones symbolizing power over death.
KON wants Apple to publicly apologize for using its logo, stop selling devices using the current App Store logo, and pay compensation for economic loss.
The Beijing People's Court has accepted the case and should make a ruling over the course of the next couple of weeks.
Apple in 2016 lost a similar case involving the "IPHONE" trademark that was in use by Chinese leather goods manufacturer Xintong Tiandi Technology. In that case, Apple was aiming to protect its iPhone trademark to prevent Xintong Tiandi from using the iPhone name for its cases, but the Chinese courts ruled against Apple.
Article Link: Apple Sued for App Store Logo's Resemblance to Chinese Clothing Brand Logo
How aggressively did they pursue this though? It's probably somewhat like Disney, they don't like having to send C&D's to daycares unlawfully using their trademarks, but they can't risk dilution and invalidation of the mark, so they defend it vigourously.This is actually funny. After seeing Apple suing for using apple in logo / name etc. I'm from Poland and few years ago they sued the grecery compagny with web site a.pl (pl is polish internet extension) for the use of this logo
as similar to apple
I've seen this quote or versions of it attributed to dozens of different artists and writers but never Dieter Rams. Or perhaps you meant Jobs. Definitely was not Jobs. He always attributed it to Piccaso. No one really knows who said it.
This is such a simple design and so obvious I highly doubt anybody was copying. I'm pretty sure I came up with something similar when I was a kid.
It's just 3 overlapping lines... I wonder what's the simplest thing someone could claim as a unique design?
P.S. I also think these guys have a strong case to sue the ancient Egyptians...
It's just 3 overlapping lines... I wonder what's the simplest thing someone could claim as a unique design?
P.S. I also think these guys have a strong case to sue the ancient Egyptians...
The tough part is that Apple, Disney, et. al., have seen too many trademarks get diluted and invalidated through lack of vigourous defence. IIRC, Disney is on record stating they only go after daycares and other "nice" uses because of the fear of invalidation. I'm sure Apple is similar.
This is such a simple design and so obvious I highly doubt anybody was copying. I'm pretty sure I came up with something similar when I was a kid.
It's just 3 overlapping lines... I wonder what's the simplest thing someone could claim as a unique design?
P.S. I also think these guys have a strong case to sue the ancient Egyptians...
Can't beat this one
Pictures in your comment are completely irrelevant/different.
LOL. That is funny coming from a Chinese company. Have the Chinese ever not copied someone else ?
Off topic, but I just want China to vanish off the face of the earth asap.
NICE FIND!
Apple has been using the logo way longer than that. Check out this screenshot of MacOS 10.0, from 2001 (notice the "Applications" icon):
The recent change is a natural evolution of that design. There's no way they should win.
EDIT: And yes, that is Internet Explorer.
Dang! I was just about to spend a lot of money on a Kon hat, but instead I thought - wait - I'll instead spend some money on some KON apps in my phone instead. I had NO IDEA that was the APP STORE, and it was owned by APPLE, not KON! KON may now go bankrupt, because I can't get my money back. If I had even suspected it was Apple who owned that app store, I'd never done it, but since they used the Kon logo I spent everything I had left... It's pretty obvious to me we either need to shut down Apple to avoid this kind of confusion, or that Apple needs to switch to an attractive, meaningful icon for the App Store. Not sure which is more likely.
But you're missing the point - that was the ATTRACTIVE version of the App Store icon, with photographic realism in the pencil and ruler and paint brush. KON's point is that now that we have 1,000x better graphics than back in 2001, it is a CRIME for Apple to waste it all and give us 3 vector lines out of a 1974 arcade machine. We pay a lot for these phones - we deserve nicer graphics. So they fined Apple. Makes sense.
It has nothing to do with fanboys. I guess the irony of the situation is flying right over your head.
FWIW both the new Apple App Store logo and the KON logo suck, so let’s hope Apple just returns to the good looking logo.
Edit to add the KON logo sucks because it calls to mind nothing of what it’s supposed to be symbolizing and just looks like a stupid version of the letter “A”.
The letter ‘A’ has the same design too. Might as well sue the English alphabet while they’re at it.