Apple sued by The Beatles over iPod, ITMS The legendary agreement goes to the roots of Apple’s incarnation. The Beatles allowed Apple to use the Trademarked name of their record label as long as they didn’t have anything to do with Music. Over the years The Beatles have sued, as Apple has challenged those terms, repeatedly. Apple loses every time. Anyone who understood computing realized that Apple Computer has been on a collision course with this agreement since 1984.
Apple originally licensed the name from Apple Records, agreeing not to include sound on their computers and to stay away from the music industry. Look in the system folder on your Mac, you’ll see (and hear) a sound effect called “Sosumi”. This has been included on every Apple computer since sound was first introduced. Wanna know where that name comes from? So, sue me.
-Ian.
—– http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/09/11/applemusic/ index.php?redirect63293387000
By Jim Dalrymple jdalrymple [at] maccentral [dot] com September 11, 2003 6:00 pm ET
Apple Computer Inc. is being sued by Apple Corps. The parent company for music legends, The Beatles, has begun legal proceedings against Apple Computer, citing breach of contract for the suit, according to Fox News .
Apparently when Apple Computer first started, The Beatles sued them for the use of the corporate name. In addition to a hefty cash settlement, Apple agreed to only use the corporate name for computer products and not enter the music markeplace.
Years later, The Beatles sued and won another lawsuit when Apple shipped computers that allowed music to be played through attachable speakers. That lawsuit charged breach of a trademark agreement since Apple had agreed to steer clear of the music business. Fox News estimates Apple has paid US$50 million in the lost suits so far.
The latest round of legal proceedings surround Apple’s popular MP3 player, the iPod and the iTunes Music Store, which just sold its 10 millionth song online.
“When it first happened with the iPod, we said, “What could they be thinking?” said a Beatles legal insider, who agreed that posters announcing the iPod from “AppleMusic” were among the most egregious violations. “They knew we had the agreement, and that we’d won a lot of money from them already.”
An Apple representative was not immediately available for comment.