Apple Targeting Indie Director Over 'Apple-Man' Film Title Trademark

[Rygaard]

this should be kinda easy to win - since there are already 84 movies with Apple in the title

Movie Titles with the Word: Apple

There are 83 movies with the word "Apple" in the title. These include "Chedeng and Apple (Si Chedeng at si Apple)", "Adam's Apple", "The Apple", "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again"

www.movieflavor.com

also what will the target next ??? me
because here is my APPLE pie recipie:
APPLES
Cinnamon
flour
sugar
water
butter.

 

[Kuckuckstein]

2050 - can you name a fruit ?
A student -> apple
Teacher -> Wrong . Apple is a brand ?
Student -> Confuse
Teacher -> Apple is extinct fruit, so the name "Apple" are now for "Apple product only"

In one hundred years the story will be this: “Apple, name origin: initially, Apple was a term describing a family of electronic computing devices, such as computers, phones and watches. But over time people realized a resemblance between the companies’ logo and a certain type and range of fruits, which then affectionately adopted the name apple.”

In all seriousness, I always loved the fact that a tech company would choose such a humble name (and yes I know the Steve Job’s tale how the name came about). It made them very human, which I think was one of Steve’s motivations (just like round corners).

But this, this is stupid, greedy and arrogant.

 

[TheOldChevy]

Next in line will be Berlin with its legendary Amplemann.

AMPELMANN Berlin

AMPELMANN ist die Berliner Kultmarke rund um die Ampelmännchen: Designprodukte, hochwertige Souvenirs und Berlin-Erlebnisse – nicht nur für Touristen.

www.ampelmann.de

 

[Wildkraut]

This just confirms that Apple is evil and helps them to complete the negative public image they are building hard lately.

 

[joshdammit]

Usually a trademark owner has to defend their mark or they'd lose their proprietary interest in the mark.

I agree it seems a little excessive in this case, but that's how the law works - defend it or potentially lose it. e.g. laches etc in trademark law.

It’s a fruit

 

[Mac_MD-PhD]

Lawyers gotta lawyer I guess.

 

[ginkobiloba]

Copyright is not the same as trademark. He is free to name the movie whatever he wants in the United States, as there is typically no copyright protection for titles of books, movies, etc.

On the other hand, trademarks are strictly enforced, and if he tries to register a trademark, then Apple (the computer company) has every right to defend their own trademark to the extent that there is any potential conflict, which seems highly unlikely in this case.

Broadly speaking, it's not clear why he needs a trademark at all. The lack of a trademark will not prevent him from releasing a film, book, etc...

People rarely go beyond their first emotional reactions. I also reacted negatively to this and thought it was a silly move from Apple, until i got to the part where the director is actually trying to trademark the title of the film. Unlike commercial products and services, this is rarely done for artistic works, and there are plenty of books, music albums and movies that happen to have the same title.

if he didn’t try to trademark the title, he would have no problems. Tim Cook spoke very negatively about the two movies made about Steve Jobs and Apple, but did nothing to prevent them from being released.
The attempt to trademark a film title with “Apple” in it is the issue, because this means that in the future, it is the director that can sue or prevent Apple from releasing certain products.

I’m willing to bet he did this on purpose, because he can win whatever the issue : looking as a victim and getting free massive promotion for his film if he looses the trademark , or getting massive royalties in the future if he manages to trademark it.

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

Bananaman is the real victim here.

 

[tkaravou]

Just change the name to a type of Apple instead. Maybe Spartan-Man? Or Macintosh-Man? Mac-Man for short?

 

[laptech]

Apple are right to defend their trademark here because whilst all of us in their thread have the luxury of seeing the film poster and thus the association with the name 'Apple Man', this will not be the case when there is no poster to see and just the name of the film. The word 'Apple' has become so synonymous with the company Apple that when people talk in general about Apple it is usually assumed the person is talking about the computer company and not the fruit. So when someone is talking about Apple Man for example: 'hey, did you see Apple Man' or 'I heard Apple Man is great' or 'What is your thoughts on or about Apple Man', it would be right to assume that the person is talking about the computer company and a person within that company. Without the proper context and that context being the films poster being shown everytime the words Apple Man is mentioned, it's hard not to accept that when the words Apple Man is mentioned it is in reference to a man working at Apple computers. Hence why Apple needs to defend their trademark to stop any confusion from happening.

 

[JosephAW]

Apple will resolve it by releasing the film first on Apple TV+

 

[mansplains]

Apple should just buy the movie for the Apple TV+ catalog

 

[Damian83]

This film would have come and gone without notice but it turns out that being able to capitalize on free publicity from one of the worlds most valuable companies is a way better super power than levitating fruit.

do u think this news will be on BBC or in the front page of new york times? or just on niche websites like this? its a little publicity but just LITTLE...

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

can we not eat apples now?

Only those bought using an Apple Card.

 

[PC_tech]

haha pear ..
"Apple decided to take legal action against a company called Prepear in August 2020 because the company has a pear-shaped logo, which Apple claims is very similar to its own logo — although Prepear has nothing to do with technology"

He knows that, it’s just the usual Apple defense, nothing Apple does is wrong dontchaknow?

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Just call it Fruit-Man. Problem solved.

But he had to choose apples, because he knows that subconsciously, now almost everybody (in the English language at least) associates "Apple" with a capital "A" with the company.

What happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt?

Also, what do you want authors to do? Are we going to have Adam and Eve swap their apples for “generic fruit” just to not step on the big tech company?

The story in this movie is specifically about apples, not just any fruit in general, and there’s a big difference between the two.

Apples have their own unique history and relevance in culture, dating back many thousands of years before Jobs or Wozniak were even born.

If the story centered on tech products or had tons of tech puns in the dialogue, then maybe I’d agree that this is deliberate attempt to associate with Apple.

But you can’t own a word as common as “apple”, not to this extent and in every context that Apple deems inappropriate.

-It’s Apple’s issue that “apple” is such a common word, not artists who tell stories about apples.

 

[bookofxero]

Usually a trademark owner has to defend their mark or they'd lose their proprietary interest in the mark.

I agree it seems a little excessive in this case, but that's how the law works - defend it or potentially lose it. e.g. laches etc in trademark law.

This right here.
Also, Prepear used Apple's "leaf" rotated 90 degrees. I still hold that the issue was around that moreso than just being another fruit logo.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Cleenol Apple Toilet Cleaner 2 x 5L

A highly perfumed, thick green toilet cleaner with an effective descaling action that leaves toilets clean and deodorized. May safely be used on porcelain and stainless steel. Ideal for everyday use. Case of 2 x 5l bottles.

www.redlandmobility.co.uk

Are these compatible with 1st or 2nd generation Apple Pencils?

Also, where did you find these? They are not showing up on apple.com

What does where he lives or where he was born have anything to do with anything? If he is making a film in Ukraine for exclusive release in Ukraine why is he filing US paperwork?

Ever heard of the Internet?

 

[MRrainer]

What happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt?

Also, what do you want authors to do? Are we going to have Adam and Eve swap their apples for “generic fruit” just to not step on the big tech company?

The story in this movie is specifically about apples, not just any fruit in general, and there’s a big difference between the two.

Apples have their own unique history and relevance in culture, dating back many thousands of years before Jobs or Wozniak were even born.

If the story centered on tech products or had tons of tech puns in the dialogue, then maybe I’d agree that this is deliberate attempt to associate with Apple.

But you can’t own a word as common as “apple”, not to this extent and in every context that Apple deems inappropriate.

-It’s Apple’s issue that “apple” is such a common word, not artists who tell stories about apples.

He could have called it "the apple man" (all small caps).

IMO, it's really just a publicity-stunt and nothing more.

 

[bookofxero]

Yup. He's making a movie about apples the fruit just like the one that Eve ett because the snekky devil tempted her, and then made Adam ett it too ebil woman which of course led to their oldest son killing the younger son or maybe it was the other way around but in the end it led to human sin, violence, greed, murder, porn, capital gains tax, and world war 4 which eventually Apple the Company needs to realize it was NEVER about them.... well except for the evil and greed part

It is never explicitly called an "apple". It is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I forget how it became associated with the apple, but yeah, there is nothing explicitly commanded by "god" that you cannot eat apples.

 

[bookofxero]

What happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt?

Also, what do you want authors to do? Are we going to have Adam and Eve swap their apples for “generic fruit” just to not step on the big tech company?

The story in this movie is specifically about apples, not just any fruit in general, and there’s a big difference between the two.

Apples have their own unique history and relevance in culture, dating back many thousands of years before Jobs or Wozniak were even born.

If the story centered on tech products or had tons of tech puns in the dialogue, then maybe I’d agree that this is deliberate attempt to associate with Apple.

But you can’t own a word as common as “apple”, not to this extent and in every context that Apple deems inappropriate.

-It’s Apple’s issue that “apple” is such a common word, not artists who tell stories about apples.

For all we know, "Apple Man" is an internal training video "mascot" or something. Either way, they have to defend their copyright and there is a lot we do not know about this case, so everything is just conjecture.

 

[antiprotest]

Apple might not have a case unless Appleman can rob the villains' bank accounts and drain their powers via bluetooth, and disrupt their cloud capabilities or troll their synced files randomly. That would be evidence for intentional infringement.

 

[PC_tech]

Have you seen this? Dr Burger Man as a bad guy. Sounds like a whopper.

That actually looks pretty good! ???

 

[cocoua]

Well, as we are dangerous walking to a virtual future, it is possible Apple delete any relation with the fruit in the metaverse, so apples would be again the forbidden fruit.

Instead not eating from the three, we couldn't say the word "Apple" beyond the tech brand.

So enjoy it now while you can!!

 

[cocoua]

Screw Apple if name your company after a common thing like a fruit, it doesn't give the right to now tell the world how they can use the name of the fruit. Bottom line the company with more money than god is just looking for some free media coverage, by whining about this.

but justice is complex, if Apple proofs that if someone with too many Apple INC products is popularly known as "apple man" then court can perfectly vote in favor of Apple.
but again, you would need the Trump's fake news machinery to flood internet with that concept and this couldnt be seen as evidence as the inks would be to knew.