Apple is almost certainly the most famous company in the world to use a fruit as its logo. But does that mean that Apple can argue that other fruit-based logos could be confused with its own?
That, in a nutshell, is at the root of a dispute between Apple and a meal-planning firm called Super Healthy Kids, which previously filed a design trademark application for a logo for its app Prepear---that Apple thinks is just a little bit too close to its own iconic Apple logo, dating back to the late 1970s.
Apple's Objection to the Pear-Based Logo
Apple objected to the pear-based logo in August. Like Apple's logo, the Prepear logo features the simplified profile of a piece of a fruit, complete with a tilted leaf shape as part of the design. Apple opposed the company being granted a trademark for the design in both the United States and Canada.
In the aftermath of Apple's complaint, Prepear co-founder and COO Russell Monson set up a Change.org petition, criticizing the Cupertino tech giant's behavior. To date, the petition has received upward of 268,000 digital signatures.
"Apple has been opposing small businesses with fruit-related logos by starting expensive legal action," the petition argued, "even when those logos don't look anything like Apple's logo, or aren't in the same line of business as Apple at all."
It continued that Apple defending its trademark against small businesses with "fruit-related logos" has caused many to change their logos and abandon the fight because they "cannot afford the tens of thousands of dollars it would cost to fight Apple."
The team at Prepear said that the legal action was already costing them big bucks. The petition noted that it is a "terrifying experience to be legally attacked by one of the largest companies in the world."
The Battle May Be Coming to an End
The legal fruit punch-up may be coming to an end, however. As reported by MacRumors, filings made with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board show that, at present, "parties are actively engaged in negotiations for the settlement of this matter."
There is no guarantee that a settlement will be reached, of course. If it is not, pre-trial disclosures are set to take place in March. After this, the main trial briefs would commence in October, and a possible request for an oral hearing wouldn't happen until December 2021.
But from the sound of things, both parties may be happy to come to an alternative arrangement before that happens. At a time when Apple is under fire in some domains for allegedly throwing its weight around, causing a small company to change its logo might just be a bad PR move.
It remains to be seen what a possible arrangement between Apple and Prepear might entail. At present, Prepear continues to display its pear-shaped logo.
Image Credit: Apple/Prepear
