“Woolworths’ recently introduced logo is a stylised W resembling a piece of fruit (echoing its ‘fresh food people’ slogan),” Stephen Withers reports for iTWire. “But Apple thinks the new logo is too similar to the stylised apple design it has used in various forms and colours since the early days of the company.”
“Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. Trade marks are granted for specific categories of products and services, allowing Hyundai and Microsoft to use the same trade mark (Excel) for a car and a computer program,” Withers reports. “But Woolworths is trying to register its logo as a trademark in Class 9 (among others), which includes ‘apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images… calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers… computer devices and computer peripheral devices… [and] computer hardware and software.'”
“Apple has products in all of those categories,” Withers reports. “Another issue is that Apple already uses its logo to identify its retail stores.”
Full article here.
Julian Lee reports for The Age, “Apple will have to convince IP Australia, the Federal Government agency that governs trademarks, to knock back Woolworths’ application – filed in August last year – to trademark its logo.”
“Woolworths’ application includes a wide class for electrical goods and technology, putting it in direct competition with Apple should the retailer choose to brand computers, music players or other devices,” Lee reports. “Woolworths has gone into credit cards and mobile phones, so the likelihood of it going into computers is not too remote.”
“Trademark lawyer Trevor Choy said it was common for Apple to prevent others from using anything that resembled an apple in a logo or marketing,” Lee reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Clearly, Apple is right to protect themselves against the possibility of Woolworths slapping said logo on some random phones, music players, PCs and/or other electronic devices and potentially confusing consumers and diminishing decades of hard work and money that Apple has invested in their brand’s logo – one of the most valuable in the world.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Judge Bork” for the heads up.]
@rattiemouse
You blazing idiot, I didn’t say “I” thought they looked the same, but I did see why Apple was concerned. You, and others here are comparing the logos side by side on a screen, where the difference is extremely obvious. But people NOT familiar with Apple’s logo specifically, say people who’ve never had an Apple product, if they saw what clearly is an apple (the proposed Woolworth logo) at a tiny size could very well think it’s an Apple product they’re looking at. For instance, if it were on the back of a small cellphone.
Some people (you for instance), have such rotted mental processes they cannot think through anything they’ve read or process what they’re presented with logically.
Woolworth’s new logo looks more like a pumpkin than an apple to me…
This is patently ridiculous and a non-debate.
Apple have registered an Apple shape logo, so therefore own the rights to everything even remotely apple like in shape, colour or heritage.
Nobody else should use or refer to Apples, even in casual conversation, because we own the conceptual rights. This also applies to anything else that in passing could resemble an apple (eg. all fruits, vegetables and the letter “W”).
In addition, anything with the letter “i” at (or near) the beginning is also our intellectual property, as is anything made from white plastic.
You’ve been warned!
Only blithering idiots would confuse these two icons….oh, wait.