Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!biar!trebor
From: trebor@biar.UUCP (Robert J Woodhead)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: The Beatles sue Apple
Message-ID: <195@biar.UUCP>
Date: 8 Mar 89 13:07:48 GMT
References: <1250@husc6.harvard.edu> <46700106@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu>
Reply-To: trebor@biar.UUCP (Robert J Woodhead)
Organization: Biar Games, Inc.
Lines: 46

In article <46700106@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu> thompson@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
>b. I *really* find it hard to believe that a person or company can
>  trademark a common English word like "apple" and have exclusive use
>  to that word in all cases.  Even though Parker Bros. owns the
>  rights to "Monopoly", they cannot stop someone selling a book
>  called "Monopoly".  They *can* stop someone from selling a *game*
>  called "Monopoly".  Likewise, although Marvel Comics publishes
>  a regular comic called "Wolverine", they do *not* have to
>  pay royalties to the University of Michigan (nor vice versa).

I agree, but this may not be the point.  From the information that I have
read it is impossible to deduce exactly what happened, but I would guess
that it went something like this :

A smart Apple Corps lawyer hears about this new company named Apple Computer,
and checks it out.  He decides that while there is no infringement right now,
what with things like the "Moog" synthesizer and other work in academia, the
microcomputer might be usable in the future to generate music, in which the
two trademarks might conflict (and shudder, even worse, by that time Apple
Computer might have more money to spend on lawyers than Apple Corps!).  So
he does the prudent thing (for a lawyer, the prudent thing is anything that
covers his clients rear while generating fees for the lawyer) and whacks this
little company (Apple Computer) over the head and says "You guys better agree
not to go into the music business or we are going to sue you and try to stop
you from using the Apple name RIGHT NOW!"  He makes this threat in the Apple
boardroom (at the time, this was probably Woz's garage) while, out on the
street, Ringo plays the funeral march on the drums.

The point is, Trademark law is probably not the point.  What is the point is
what is in the agreement between Apple Corps and Apple Computer.  If that
agreement says "Thou shalt not produce a computer that CAN create music" then
Apple Corps wins (and Apple's original lawyers should be shot).  If it says
that "Thou shalt not create computers that are musical instruments" then it
is more iffy, because an Apple, AS SUPPLIED BY APPLE, can't make music;  you
need extra software and sometimes hardware to do so.

In any case, it won't be over til it's over, and only the lawyers involved
really understand whats going on.

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