Last updated on April 22, 2014
CNN.com has the latest ringside reports from Apple Corps vs. Apple Computer, wherein the Beatles’ music label wants the computer company to stop using the latter’s logo on iTunes. Apple Computer’s attorney notes that “even a moron in a hurry” could tell the difference between iTunes and a music label.
Frankly, I don’t see Apple Corps’ photographic logo as all that similar to the more abstract Apple Computer’s. How many ways can one depict the fabled fruit? Nevertheless, while contract law in the UK may differ from how it is here and I am certainly not a lawyer, I think this comes down to whether the agreement specified whether Apple cannot sell the specific physical media cited, e.g., CDs and cassettes, or more generalized terms of “songs” or “albums.” Arguing that digital downloads are “the new CDs” doesn’t cut it.
At least now the world knows why Apple doesn’t offer physical CDs as an alternative on the iTunes Music Store — something that competitors offer.