Apple Takes Action Against a German Cafe in Bonn for Infringing on Its Famous Logo

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has sent a “cease-and-desist”letter to “Apfelkind“, a cafe in Bonn, Germany. Apfelkind ("Apple child") uses a logo consisting of a red apple with the silhouette of a child inside.

Owner Christin Römer submitted the design to the Trademark and Patent Bureau in Munich, Germany. She applied for 42 classes (categories), including fashion and service provider. She also stated that she would like to franchise her “Apfelkind” concept.

The legal eagles at Apple noticed that the two logos are very similar. Apple lawyers promptly objected to the submission and issued a “cease-and-desist” letter to Ms. Römer.

She immediately involved the German media, playing the David vs. Goliath card.

But things are not as clear cut as Ms. Römer might think.

The problem is not just having the logo on the building. She also sells merchandize with the logo (such as cups) online. She also writes on her website that she is planning to expand her webshop (there is already a picture of pillows featuring the logo).

Furthermore, her submitting the logo in the category “service provider” and announcing that she wants to build a franchise show that she is a savvy business woman.

Her claim that her logo was inspired “by the apple trees of my neighbors” is weak to say the least. She hired a graphic studio to do the design. Any reputable graphic designer will warn against piggyback-riding on famous logos.

How will it end? Ms. Römer has two choices: to spend a lot of money fighting for her logo, or changing the design and removing it from the “service provider” category.

In the mean time, she got lots of free publicity. But she should realize that multinationals are investing a fortune in their brand and are therefore highly protective of their IP, including logos.

The lesson to be learned here is to make sure that your logo, font type, slogan, product name and color scheme do not even vaguely resemble those of other companies. Be original! It is not only better marketing, but also prevents legal problems.

A painful lesson in copyright and graphic design – inspired by Steve Jobs

Social media has changed the game; in more ways than one. Let’s look at the case of Mr. Mak.

Mr. Mak, a university student in Hong Kong who is an aspiring graphic designer. Upon the passing way of Steve Jobs, he designed a graphic of the Apple logo with a silhouetted profile of Mr. Jobs. It went viral and was even picked up by news media. Even actor Ashton Kutcher posted the design on his Twitter account. So far, so good...

But then, it was noticed that his design has an uncanny resemblance to the design of Chris Thornley, a British graphic artist.

Mak developed his design in late August using a white Apple logo on a black background. He used a black silhouette of Mr. Jobs indented in the apple as a tribute to Mr. Jobs after he stepped down as chief executive of Apple.

Although Mak said he had searched across the Internet both to ensure he was not infringing on another design, he did not come across Mr. Thornley’s design.

But his design turned out to be similar Mr. Thornley’s. Thornely designed a black Apple logo on a white background, with a white silhouette of Mr. Jobs. The angle is slightly different from Mak’s design.

A shocked Mak said he had received notification from Mr. Thornley’s wife, Julia, about the similarities of the two designs.

In the world of graphic design, similarities between images are quite common. This case illustrates once more how easy it has become to unearth similar images or outright copies. Mr. Thornley, a 40-year-old living in Darwen, England, acknowledges the dangers the digital age presented to creativity.

He is following the controversy while receiving treatment for a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He stated that he first developed his design in May 2011. He wanted to celebrate the fact that someone who had cancer was still working, still driving forward and still thinking positively about the future.

“The Internet can be a double-edged sword,” he said. “You need to use the Internet in order to promote yourself, but in order to do this you are making yourself vulnerable to these situations.”

Mr. Thornley went on to say that he hoped to speak with Mr. Mak soon about the two designs.

“J. Mak has been as honest as he can about the situation, I think,” he said. “It is important to have the debate about this, and J. Mak has to be credited for opening up the debate and not hiding from it.”

Mr. Mak said that he learned a valuable lesson.. “It really taught me to be very careful about what I say and do. With all the negative publicity I received in Hong Kong, it taught me to be very careful. At the same time, I need to stay true to my sense of aesthetics.”

Posted by Tip Top PR at 5:39 PM 0 comments

Copyright Challenged

The U.S. Supreme Court justices are dealing with an interesting issue - to grant copyrights to works by foreign authors. The potential stakes are huge and n pit old industry against new. The publishing and movie industries say that robust enforcement of foreign copyrights in the US is essential to ensuring reciprocal protection of their copyrights overseas.

In contrast, companies such as Google (which has digitized millions of public domain works and placed them online) state that their investments could be jeopardized.

In 1994, Congress sought to give protection to foreign works under the Berne Convention, which gives US works reciprocal protection overseas. The 1994 law applies only to works that were never copyrighted under old US copyright law. Nowadays, all foreign artists receive the copyright protection they get in their home countries.

Granting copyright removes a work from the public domain. This means that works that would be free for anyone to use, republish, perform or build upon is not allowed anymore. Works that long had been available to all (e.g., Picasso, Nabokov and J.R.R. Tolkien) could be withdrawn if the owners assert their ownership.

A group including musicians, filmmakers and archivists who rely on public domain works challenged the law. They claim that it exceeds Congress's power to grant copyrights, and infringes on the First Amendment free speech rights.

Anthony Falzone of Stanford Law School stated that once a copyright's "limited time" expires, a work permanently enters the public domain. Since foreign authors never had copyrights at the outset, Congress can't extend them now.

Justice Ginsburg argued that there was a difference between restoring copyrights that had expired and granting copyright for the first time. However, several justices doubt that taking books and music by long-dead authors out of the public domain could promote the "progress" the Constitution sought to spur through copyright.

A decision in the case, Golan v. Holder, is expected soon.

Why Blawging (legal blogging) is so important

Job seekers should network strategically and take advantage of social media. Blogging about issues in their preferred practice area would give them an opportunity to showcase their capabilities.

Law students and recent grads often fear that they are too inexperienced to blog with credibility. On the up side: they have fresh researching skills and are knowledgeable about cutting-edge issues they learned in their classes. They can leverage this know-how into topics to write or blog about. Their professors might be wiling to endorse them!

Law students should not write law review-style articles. Instead, they should write in a more conversational way about subjects they are passionate about. Their passion will show through and inspires blog writing. So start a blog about law-related matters, and try to combine it with other passions. That’s what engages readers and builds a faithful following.

One law graduate landed a job in an estate planning firm, and he believes that blogging helped. He went to work for a firm that values writing and encourages him to write articles on topics clients care about.

Why did blogging help him? It gave him an audience interested in his writing and analytical skills, since it demonstrated his interest in the practicing in his field of interest.

Advise to all lawyers ( and lawyer to be): start blawging!

Amanda Knox- another miscarriage of justice?

In an astounding reversal of fortune, Amanda Knox was set free by an Italian jury. She told the jury impassioned: "I did not kill, I did not rape, I was not there." Throughout her trial, she has always maintained her innocence. So now, after four years, she walked out of her Italian prison a free woman.

Was she the victim of a miscarriage of justice? Or is she a second Lindy Chamberlain (“a dingo took my baby”) or Casey Anthony?

One of the main problems is the girl herself (similar to Ms. Anthony). She was quite appropriate referred to as “[the killer] with the stone-cold eyes”. She never even flinched once during her court appearances or showed any grief for the brutal murder of her close friend and housemate Meredith Kercher.

Poor Meredith was forced to kneel, her face was pushed into the floor, and she was then raped at knife-point before being stabbed and strangled to death.

Amanda seems to be obsessed though with former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. To this day, Raffaele denies that she was at his house on the night of the murder (as she claimed).

Ms. Knox also repeatedly changed her story and even accused an innocent man to save her own skin.

So why was she set free? Simple - the evidence was too botched and the forensics too flawed. Does that make her innocent? Far from it! But in any democratic legal system - in dubio pro reo.

The act she put up during her last hearing was an example of great acting. She pleaded: ‘I don’t want to be deprived of my life.’ Yeah, sure, but what about poor Meredith? She for sure was cruelly deprived of her life!

Nicknamed Foxy Knoxy by the media, she will for sure hammer out a great book deal, followed by a Hollywood blockbuster. Ah well, she can always hook up with Casey Anthony and start her own “exclusive” club of accused murderesses set free....

In the mean time, there is no justice served and the parents and relatives of Meredith have to try to come to terms with this latest Italian carriage of justice.....

The public prosecutor announced that they will appeal the latest verdict. Stay tuned....