Tag Archives: Apple

How Do You Like Them Apple (Trademarks)? Malus Musings on Brand Protection

With “spooky season” dominating October holiday talk, it’s easy to forget poor old National Apple Day or simply Apple Day, which took place last Saturday and is observed every October 21. According to Wikipedia, one can celebrate Apple Day in any number of ways, from “apple games in a garden to large village fairs with cookery demonstrations, games, apple identification, juice and cider, gardening advice, and the sale of many hundreds of apple varieties.” Those activities are all well and good – and I fully appreciate that “bobbing for apples” wasn’t listed because,… More

Carta de Error! Copyright Takedown Notice To iTunes May Give Rise to Misrepresentation Liability

carta de errorSection 512(f) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes parties who issue copyright takedown notices liable for any “knowing” misrepresentations in those notices. However, the Ninth Circuit in Rossi v. Motion Picture Ass’n of America, and other courts, have interpreted the term “knowing” narrowly, causing many to wonder if Section 512(f) has much practical application.

In a recent article for the ABA’s Landslide Magazine,… More

Sue-per Bowl Shuffle 2014: The Year in NFL-Related Intellectual Property Litigation

sdf

Heading into this year’s Super Bowl party season, there are two things every lawyer should be concerned about. First, why can’t your team get it together? Second, what do you do if you are asked to explain to your friends and neighbors some NFL-related litigation that you haven’t been following? We can’t help you with the first problem (although, as an Iggles fan living in the heart of Patriots Nation,… More

The APP STORE Trademark Wars: New Year’s Installment

Amazon has recorded another success in its battle with Apple over use of the term APP STORE.  The U.S. District Court in California has granted Amazon’s motion for summary judgment on Apple’s claim of false advertising arising from Amazon’s use of the term APP STORE (or APPSTORE in practice) in connection with Amazon’s online store selling applications for Android devices and the Kindle Fire.

As is well known,… More

Man Versus Machine: iPhone 4S User Files Class Action Against Apple, Alleges Siri Won’t Do As Told

Frank Fazio, a disgruntled iPhone 4S user from New York, recently filed a federal class action lawsuit against Apple in California, alleging that the Siri feature of the iPhone 4S does not work as advertised. For those of you who still use pay phones, Siri is a virtual assistant that uses voice recognition to answer questions and perform tasks that would otherwise require typing, such as making calls, sending text messages, scheduling meetings, and getting directions. Mr. Fazio alleges that he purchased an iPhone 4S in November 2011 based on representations made by Apple regarding the Siri feature but began noticing problems right away.

Apple and the Beatles: The End of a Long and Winding Road?

The decision by Apple Corps, the Beatles’ music company, to allow distribution of Beatles songs on iTunes appears to have been vindicated by the initial sales figures achieved (two million singles sold in the first week, reports Billboard). However, the release of Beatles’ music on iTunes, the final act in the resolution of the long-running trademark dispute between Apple Computer and Apple Corps, also illustrates the basic truth underlying the resolution of many trademark negotiations: the company with the biggest consumer footprint ultimately wins.… More