At Apple, they are a little possessive of what’s theirs. So much so that they want to register the apple logo. Yes, the fruit apple that you usually have for lunch every day.
Apple is trying to assert its legal power and global influence to obtain intellectual property rights over… apples. Yes, the fruit apple… it’s quite unbelievable.
In Switzerland, the Fruit Union Suisse uses the symbol of a red apple with a white cross, representing the Swiss national flag overlaid on an apple. The group has a history of over a hundred years and now fears having to change its logo due to Apple’s insistence on trademarking the fruit.
Wired points out that this is not an isolated incident, as Apple has filed similar claims with intellectual property authorities worldwide, with varying degrees of success.
Apple has won similar lawsuits before
Authorities in Japan, Turkey, Israel, and Armenia have already given in to the tech giant’s frankly unreasonable requests.
According to Jimmy Mariéthoz, Director of the Fruit Union Suisse, the union was not pleased with the tech giant’s petition, “because they’re not just trying to protect their bitten apple. Their goal here is really to own the rights to a real apple, which for us is something that is truly almost universal… that should be free for everyone to use.”
Apple’s eagerness to own the intellectual property rights to something as universally generic as a piece of fruit speaks volumes about the company’s sense of arrogance and its presumption that, being Apple, one of the world’s largest technology companies, it can simply intimidate government organizations into doing as it pleases.
These current efforts to obtain a trademark in Switzerland date back to 2017 when Apple filed an application with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property seeking intellectual property rights for a realistic black and white representation of a Granny Smith apple – a very generic apple, in other words.
The application encompassed a wide range of uses, including electronic, digital, and consumer products. The application was initially denied, but Apple has filed an appeal. The future and freedom are at stake.
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