The California giant absolutely wants to give itself the exclusive right to use the image of an apple in Switzerland. The Cupertino giant has already initiated legal proceedings in the courts … causing concern for a former Swiss company specializing in fruit.
Apple is doing its best to match the Apple logo, which has been inseparable from the company since its inception. In Switzerland, the Cupertino giant is currently tryingApple registered as a trademarkReport to our colleagues time. This maneuver will prevent all other companies from using this fruit as a brand image on Swiss soil.
Apple’s initiative, which began in 2017, has been reviewed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), the body responsible for patents, trademarks, designs and copyrights, as of last fall. Then the organization refused to agree to the request of the American manufacturer, considering that Apple was lackingA real special character. This is a basic criterion for filing in the field of copyright.
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A worrying demand in Switzerland
Faced with this rejection, Apple sent an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court (TAF) in Switzerland. He considered the iPhone maker’s application in April. The court pledged to issue its verdict within the next few months.
Apple’s appeal raises concerns Fruit Union Switzerland. This company, which was born 111 years ago, also uses apples in its logo. This red apple is decorated with a cross in reference to the Swiss flag. If Apple’s request is approved, the company won’t have to say goodbye to its logo. On the other hand, it would theoretically be banned from showing apples in its advertising communications in Switzerland.
“If the patent is accepted, the use of an image with apples could be problematic, particularly in relation to our Swiss fruit advertising activities”confirms Jamie Marethoz, Fruit-Union Suisse branch manager who interviewed him the time.
At the moment, it is difficult to say whether the court will favor Apple. As the specialized lawyer Michel Jacquard explains, Apple is already obliged to do so “Strive hard to obtain registration of the Apple Word mark” in Switzerland. The company won its case, because the court considered it “The public strongly associated the term Apple (in English) with an information technology company”.
“I’m not sure the same can be said of a (realistic) image of an apple as an Apple”sums up Michel Jacquard.
Apple’s overzealousness
As a reminder, Apple used to put legal pressure on other companies in order to protect its brand image. According to a survey by the Tech Transparency Project, a think tank on the influence of internet giants, Apple collects more such actions than all other digital giants combined, such as Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and Google.
As early as 2010, he tackled the California giant, for example A small Swiss cooperativewhich used an apple in its logo. At the end of the agreement, the cooperative pledged not to use the image of the apple in its communications.
We’ll also remember that Apple attacked Prepear, a Canadian company developing a cooking app, in 2020. Apple didn’t like that the company used them. pear as a logo. The legal battle ended a year later with an agreement between the two parties. Prepear has already agreed to slightly modify its logo to avoid possible confusion with the Apple logo. At the same time, Tim Cook launched a similar attack against a small American family business, specializing in decorative paper, called Paperapple.
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