The legal dispute between Apple Corps and Apple Inc. for the rights to the Apple logo are far reaching. Since the first case back in 1978, Apple Inc. has slowly whittled away at Apple Corp’s initial legal settlement banning Apple Inc. from entering the music industry. It wasn’t until a 2007 settlement when most of Apple Corps’ trademarks were given to Apple Inc. thereby paving the way to the November 2010 release of the Beatles catalog on iTunes. There was, however, one piece of trademark that Apple Inc. never got, until now: Apple Corps’ Apple logo.
In the 2007 settlement, Apple Corps lost the legal rights to their renowned Granny Smith apple logo. In a daring move, Apple Inc. on March 11, 2011 applied for the Granny Smith apple logo trademark. The two trademark applications were filed with the European Trademarks Office under 14 International Classifications covering computer hardware, online social networking services, mobile phones, musical instruments, games, clothing/headgear, advertising, education and broadcasting.
Perhaps this will be the nail in the coffin and the last time we hear about Apple Inc. vs. Apple Corps.