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You should really read all the documents related to this trademark | 123 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
You should really read all the documents related to this trademark
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, February 01 2013 @ 01:28 PM EST
You might be able to do that, but could you afford the legal
fees when Apple comes a'sue'n?

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

You should really read all the documents related to this trademark
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, February 01 2013 @ 05:19 PM EST
You'd have to be a very close copycat to face violating it.

There are retailers who mimic the store design and logos of better known companies very closely. The actual store names and logos may be slightly altered to just pass trademark laws, but most customers don't look at the signs that closely and won't notice the difference. I know someone who got taken by one of these shops who were passing off refurbished computers as "new" products from a more reputable company (and no, it wasn't Apple they were copying). The funniest part was that I was in the shop (waiting to help this person complain) when a new employee was being orientated. Apparently he didn't realize the place was a scam, and was asking the person who was orientating him about whether they realized that customers might get confused about who the company really was.

In China of course, you can walk into plenty of "Apple" stores that sell counterfeit products, including new models of "iPhones" before Apple has even designed them (they use Java feature phone software).

Ultimately, it's a matter of how trade dress laws are treated in your country. Retail chains having a unique trademarked "look" is a very old concept, and I don't think Apple is doing anything new here. It may not be the way that computers have traditionally been sold, but Apple is presently selling consumer electronics the same way that other companies sell expensive purses and luggage.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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