In Switzerland, Apple has been waging a legal battle for a few years, in order to protect… its apple.
The American company is indeed seeking to register it as a trademark in Switzerland.
Apple very protective of his apple
For many years now, Apple has been used to legal battles. The American giant is usually faced with its best enemy: Samsung. However, on the Swiss side, the brand has been trying to register its apple for 10 years.
Apple’s objective is to protect its name of course, but also its famous logo. Seized on April 20, the Federal Administrative Court (TAF) will render its decision in several months, after the refusal of the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) at the end of last year.
A real concern for agricultural cooperatives
According to the IPI, the figurative mark (the “apple”) lacks any necessary true distinctiveness and shows a true representation of an apple. It is therefore impossible (in theory) for Apple to register it as a trademark in Switzerland, which would prevent anyone from using a similar logo. ” Unless authorized by Apple, the IPI cannot send you its decision rejecting the application for registration concerned, because an appeal against this decision is [en cours] in front of the TAF “, explains Éric Meier, vice-director of the IPI, to the magazine The weather.
On the side of Fruit-Union Suisse, whose logo is a red apple, we explain: “ The image of an apple belongs to everyone and was really not invented by Apple. “Recall that it has been a few years now that the Cupertino company has not hesitated to take to court companies that use the term “Apple” and/or that tend to use a logo representing the famous fruit.
” In 2010, Apple wanted to ban a small Swiss cooperative of food traders from using its logo with an apple. An out-of-court agreement had been reached and the cooperative had promised that it would never add a bitten side to its logo… ” remember The weather. It remains to be seen now if the Federal Administrative Court will rule in favor of Apple in the coming months, and if the American company will soon be able to rely on intellectual property to assert its rights with regard to the representation of a simple apple.
Source : The weather
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