Apple Takes Legal Action Against Small Company With Pear Logo

[lazyrighteye]

I’m a bit late to this 400+ thread, but dang...
I have been known to design a logo or two, in my time. Have navigated copy write law, if even in a peripheral sense (aka: not at all an expert in copy write law). But from that background and the standpoint of logo aesthetic and company offerings, these two logos and companies could not be any different. The unfortunate aspect to copy write law, and many laws in general, is that he/she with the deepest pockets, wins. Apple has deep enough pockets to bury literally any other company on the planet. If they so choose. That they so chose to do so here does appear unnecessarily lame. Too bad.
At this point, Prepear’s only hope is that Disaster in Chief signs another executive order... Sad. Very sad.

 

[falainber]

Wrong.

Check the application. It does not specify a color and the example they give in their application is in Black and White.

These are disingenuous arguments. Apple is complaining about the direction of the leave. If Prepear mirrors their logo that would change. Do you really believe that Apple would leave them alone after that? Of course not. They just had to say something in their application. The reality is that Apple objects to companies using fruity logos, period.

 

[TiggrToo]

These are disingenuous arguments. Apple is complaining about the direction of the leave. If Prepear mirrors their logo that would change. Do you really believe that Apple would leave them alone after that? Of course not. They just had to say something in their application. The reality is that Apple objects to companies using fruity logos, period.

How is disingenuous? The previous poster said it was a different color.

It's not. Color is not claimed in the original application.

Meanwhile Super Healthy Kids, Inc DID act disingenuously by purposely changing the color in the Change.org petition to make it look even more different than it was.

 

[dvanwinkle]

It sucks, but I do think that if they didn't file this it'd weaken future claims to their trademark. They could easily settle for $1 and not disclose the settlement, so hopefully if this is the reason that they're doing it they make it as cheap as humanly possible on this small company.

 

[Saturnine]

Which are you? The stupid, ignorant, or ill-informed? Or the person who thinks others are that?

I’m the person that rolls their eyes and walks away.

 

[Abraham Budhiredja]

Apple is taking legal action against the developers of the app "Prepear" due to its logo, according to iPhone in Canada.

Prepear is an app that helps users discover recipes, plan meals, make lists, and arrange grocery deliveries. The app is a spinoff of "Super Healthy Kids," and the founders claim that they are facing litigation from Apple. Apple reportedly takes issue with Prepear's logo, arguing that its attributes are too similar to its own logo.

The company said via a post on Instagram that Apple "has decided to oppose and go after our small business' trademark saying our pear logo is too close to their apple logo and supposedly hurts their brand". The post goes on to describe the action as "a big blow to us at Prepear," and sets out the intention to retain the original logo and "send a message to big tech companies that bullying small businesses has consequences."

The company has launched a Change.org petition in an attempt to persuade Apple to "drop its opposition of the Prepear Logo, and help stop big tech companies from abusing their position of power by going after small businesses like ours who are already struggling due to the affects of Covid-19."

Prepear says that it is a "very small business" with only five team members, and explains that legal costs from the dispute have already cost thousands of dollars and the layoff of a team member.



The petition has currently reached almost 9,000 signatures, and the founders hope it will reach 10,000.

Prepear says that Apple "has opposed dozens of other trademark applications filed by small businesses with fruit related logos," even in cases where the logo or industry is dissimilar to Apple's. Logos have been the source of legal action by Apple in the past, such as the case against a Norwegian political party and a German cycling path.

Update: Image from the trademark opposition paperwork filed by Apple:

Article Link: Apple Takes Legal Action Against Small Company With Pear Logo

Why are people saying "I hope Apple loses this one because bla bla bla" . Just commit and don't buy Apple anymore. That'll teach them. Their products sucks anyway. Overpriced arrogant exclusive wannabe pieces of thrash.

 

[TrevorR90]

I see people posting that Apple needs to do this to protect their trademark with no further elaboration.

Anyone care to elaborate? I have no idea on law and as with everything google, theres going to be conflicting results.

 

[shaocaholica]

You don’t want to get too rusty. Like a pro boxer is going to lose their edge if they don’t train and fight regularly. Apple just needs to beat the pulp out of a little company once in a while to keep its edge.

 

[mono1980]

I would agree with Apple IF this was a tech company, but it's a freaking recipe app...

 

[grad]

I see people posting that Apple needs to do this to protect their trademark with no further elaboration.

Anyone care to elaborate? I have no idea on law and as with everything google, theres going to be conflicting results.

It is just a behemoth of a corporation using its financial power to bully around smaller fishes, then calling it "defense". If you watch that "1984" TV commercial you can understand. Now, THAT is an irony.

 

[pers0n]

At least they didn't copyright a color like T-mobile did with Magenta or how Bucky's basically sued another company over an alligator logo and clean bathrooms.

But yeah, these logos are totally different.

 

[HudsonSteele]

Holy Smokes! I like Apple and their products but they are starting to turn into Brittany Spears the crazy years. Apple needs to check their "values."

 

[compwiz1202]

Not exactly related, but has anyone noticed that Apple-esque devices are almost always represented by a pear logo in fictional media?

Maybe that’s Apple’s logic behind the case. A company with a fruit pun in the name, a fruit logo = imitating Apple. It’s kind of a ridiculous stretch though

Yes this was the only stretch I could see. When I saw the pear I thought of iPear on iCarly, and thus of Apple.

 

[rgbrock1]

Hey MacRumors? You're next.

 

[TheGenerous]

You mean, like Apple brand registered apple as their trademark to get publicity? How dare they!

No, the Pear company "says" Apple has sued them. Now everybody on the internet knows about Pear company who was previously unknown

 

[rgbrock1]

Well with this in mind perhaps Apple Corp, owner of Apple Records, should revisit their lawsuit against Apple Inc., especially in lieu of Apple Music.

 

[techwhiz]

Not even remotely similar.
1. Leaf is attached in the wrong place.
2. Leaf and fruit are both outlines.
3. No bite
4. Pear has a stem
5. Green not black
6. Fruit is at an angle

Not even remotely close.

 

[0 0]

Apple is only doing this because they can get away with bullying smaller companies. We don't need companies this big and powerful. It stifles competition and limits innovation.

 

[TiggrToo]

Green not black

Wrong. Check the filing. Color was not claimed. They recoloured it for the Change.org petition.

 

[slooksterPSV]

I hope Apple loses this one. That's ridiculous! It looks nothing like Apple's logo. Just more frivolous lawsuits from Apple.

 

[Dude_anime]

They should do better than that BS of iCase, if anything hope the small company gets well compensated. More people should do like pear. What's next iMoney will want to target people branding yoPhones?

 

[Brandhouse]

No, that's just you being ludicrous in your post. There's so much more to this than you seem to want to understand. Trademark law is a complex beast that you clearly don't grasp.

You're making an assumption there. Maybe you should pull your head back in a bit.

 

[SkippyThorson]

If you haven’t seen a pear tree before you could at least google pear with leaves photo? The “very distinct shape” is how a pear leaf looks like naturally.

If Apple is reading, you should sue camps in Yosemite as it clearly reminds people of your dual boot solution. Lol.

UNCANNY!!!

 

[davidholliday]

I'm surprised Apple doesn't sue this fruity computer company.

Oh wait, Apricot Computers was started about 10 years before Apple (and long gone)

 

[derekamoss]

The customers apparently disagree with your estimation of what value they are being provided. Unless you think that free markets are nonsense and that consumers are irrational morons who vote their wallets against their own interests.

Apple, under Tim Cook, has (1) orders of magnitude more customers; (2) orders of magnitude more revenue; (3) orders of magnitude more profit; (4) orders of magnitude more intangible “influence” in the industry; (5) higher customer satisfaction ratings; (6) more computing market share; than it ever had under Steve Jobs.

Let me retry to explain.
As a shareholder I AGREE with all your points above about Cook. While I don't think consumers are irrational morons, there is a huge percentage of consumers that go with the flock mentality, I.E. Apple products are popular so If I want to be popular, I must then buy Apple products. That really is a huge amount of people that buy Apple products and it has always been that way. Even though when I bought my iBook in 2001 as a 17-year old honestly, I didn't buy it because I had a real understanding of the difference of Windows and Mac. I bought it because a girl I liked, and thought was really cool was big into Apple and had a Bondi Blue iMac. Am I proud of it, eh not really but I still fell in love with Apple overtime but that's just really the mentality of consumers. That person on TV has an iPod so, if I want to be cool, I must have an iPod and it continued on to Mac's, iPhones, iPads, iWatches, etc. and for Apple it was great revenue wise and still is.
As a consumer who no longer thinks that way, I don't think Tim Cook is a good CEO at all, but that's just it, it's only MY OWN opinion. I just believe he is to focused on profit than anything else. He got his doctorate in finances and never had any technical training on anything electronic wise, which is a huge part of Apple. Heck I would be fine if Apple went with two CEO's, Tim who focuses on finances and supply chain logistics and someone who grew up in electronic technical industry. As I said this is all only MY OWN opinion and respect that you have a completely different one. Neither of us are probably right, but that doesn't mean both of us have to be completely wrong either.