Fresh from their billion dollar win over Samsung for their copying of such patented apple innovations as rounded corners, a flat black border on phones and tablets and rounded icons Apple are at it again.
Having already launched fresh lawsuits against other Android manufacturers, and having renewed their efforts to get a number of Samsungs phones (including the Galaxy S3) banned in America and Europe as stores worldwide prepare to sell the new iPhone, Apple have another target in their sight who, they claim, are blatantly copying their logo and site design in an effort to confuse Apple customers.
The company in question is Polish food retailer a.pl whose sister site fresh24.pl uses an apple as part of its logo. Yes you read correctly, Apple are suing a food retailer for using an apple that in no way resembles Apples iconic logo, and using the website address a.pl.
As you can see from the logo shown here the website are simply using an apple, it is not the same look colour or design as the famous Apple logo nor does it have a bite out of it.
Not surprisingly, the Polish website doesn't sell electrical products and so cannot really mislead Apple customers into buying products under false pretences....because they simply don't sell anything similar, so there is zero chance of an Apple customer mistaking an actual apple (fruit) for an iPhone or iPad and mistakenly buying one only to get it home and find that the dock connector doesn't fit.
Last year Apple ordered a German cafe called Apfelkind (AppleChild) to stop using an apple in their logo as it could cause confusion and was in violation of their trademark. Before that they sued a Canadian school for using an apple as part of its logo because, apparently, no one can now use an apple as part of any logo nor the word apple or something similar such as apl for fear it will confuse Apple customers.
Apple, it seems, genuinely believe that their customers are moronic or illiterate enough (or both) to not only mistakenly buy other companies products but also mistake food stores and schools for Apple stores and that they therefore need to be protected from themselves.
What is almost as surprising as Apple suing grocers, schools and cafes is that most Apple customers don't understand that Apples victories are based on their arguing that they (the customers) are stupid.
Apple successfully argued recently that people were mistakenly buying Samsung products because they confused the two brands, something that you just can't do in a real world environment because aside from the obvious branding on Samsung devices Apple products are always displayed in their own section away from those of their competitors.
But to try arguing that their customers can be confused by a food store might be a harder sell for Apple, although if Apple are correct about some of their customers you may soon see queues of upset people in Apple stores holding kumquats and cucumbers, wanting to know why they won't power up.
