Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Stop the Noiz

Apple Sues Big Apple for Use of Apple in Logo

Frank Fox - 2008.04.10 - Tip Jar

Popularity:

Bookmark in del.icio.us

Apple recently sued over the use of an apple logo in New York City.

This doesn't make sense. The nickname for New York is "the big apple". How can New York City not have the right to use an apple in a logo?

If you look at the logo, you can see that it's not that similar to the one Apple uses.

You may think that Apple is "being evil" trying to tell some innocent group what to do. You may believe that it is so obvious that Apple's lawyers are just being jerks.

If you want to blame someone, don't blame Apple, and don't blame their lawyers - the fault lies with the courts. It started years ago, when Bayer lost exclusive rights to the word aspirin in the US. This used to be its registered trademark brand name for its acetylsalicylic acid tablet. When a court ruled that the name had not been protected and had gone into common usage, Bayer lost its trademark - and anyone could use it.

This has happened to many other companies, and the corporate world was taught a lesson by the courts: You have to defend your trademark or else! If you think this is no big deal, you're wrong. There is a long list of trademarks that have gone into common usage and are considered genericized trademarks - xerox, kleenex, jeep, scotch tape, velcro, zipper, etc. just to name a few.

This is not going to stop just because it creates bad public relation stories. A company has to ignore public opinion and act according to the law.

for everyone, lawyers and lawsuits are bad. First off, lawyers are expensive. Second, going to court is both time consuming and expensive. The financial drain can be devastating. Therefore they are feared and hated, but the rule of law is what makes our society fair.

for those many times when people disagree about the meaning or purpose of a law, we all have the freedom to bring a lawsuit and have a judge make the impartial decision. On the outside it can seem like common sense that an act is legal or fair, but with law and prior rulings the facts of a case can become less black and white.

Even within a business, the rules can get confusing. The goal of marketing is to push the brand name and logo to be popular and well recognized. But if they are too successful and the brand becomes a common word, the lawyers get nervous and start telling everyone they can't do that. The people in marketing are at odds with their own lawyers, and the message is confusing to the customer.

Yes, it is okay to use the Google™ search engine to find a website, but don't say that you are googling for information. Yes, you can say that Macintosh® computers are the best, but don't say "give me a mac." But you can write a slogan and trademark it, and then it is okay to say, "Give Me a Mac™" (unless this violates Apple's trademark).

The lawyers know that there is a fine line between what the courts have allowed in the past and what the courts have ruled against.

The next time you see the headline about your favorite company suing someone for the use of its trademark/logo, it's okay. Don't think of them being evil. They may be completely wrong, but common sense isn't good enough. The courts and the laws caused this mess, and it takes the ruling from a court to sort things out.

Just because they sued doesn't mean that Apple believes it is right. If a court finds that the usage is fair, Apple goes home happy: They can prove that they defended their trademark, and that is what is required by law to protect its trademark. It's confusing, and it may seem wrong, but you can't fault the lawyers for doing their job. It will take new laws and new court cases to change this system.

Next time you feel like there is injustice, write you congressperson a letter. Use your voice to advocate for a system that makes more sense or is less costly. Then maybe the lawyers can go back to suing over patents instead.

Oh wait, that's another screwed up bunch of laws and court cases.

Recent Stop the Noiz Columns

Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
Psystar Joins Ranks of Dumb Criminals, 11.16. The judge has ruled, and Psystar has been found guilty of illegally using Mac OS X on its computers.
My Windows 7 Launch Party, 10.23. "The final surprise was that things started to slow down during my demo. I had XP Mode running, several open windows, and a half dozen other apps running."
Windows 7: Bait for Windows XP and Vista Users, 10.19. While Win 7 is competing with OS X in features, it's target audience is Windows users, not Mac users.
More in the Stop the Noiz index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac mini Core Solo, Feb. 2006 - The only Mac to use a Core Solo CPU, this model ran at 1.5 GHz, has integrated graphics, and includes a Combo drive
Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
November 24 in LEM history: 98: Microsoft's heavy hand - 00: Looking at the iMac - 04: The best Mac for the holidays - Picking the right replacement for a dead mouse - Better battery for 15" AlBook
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.