Apple Computer

Apple Computer, Inc. {{nasdaq|AAPL}} is a Silicon Valley company based in Cupertino, California, whose core business is computer technologies. Apple helped commence the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II microcomputer and has since further shaped it with the Macintosh. Apple is known for its innovative, well-designed hardware, such as iPod and the iMac, as well as software offerings exemplified through iTunes as part of the iLife suite and Mac OS X, its flagship operating system.

Notable Litigation

From the 1980s to the present Apple has been plaintiff or defendant in notable civil actions in the United States and elsewhere. Several of these actions have determined significant case law for the technology industry, while others simply captured the attention of the public and media.

Related Topics:
1980s - United States - Case law

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Trademark dispute with Apple Corps

In 1978 Apple Corps (The Beatles-founded record label and holding company) filed suit against Apple Computer for trademark infringement. The suit settled in 1981 with an undisclosed amount being paid to Apple Corps. This amount had been estimated to $50–$200 million, but was later revealed to be $80,000. As a condition of the settlement, Apple Computer agreed to stay out of the music business.

Related Topics:
1978 - Apple Corps - The Beatles - 1981

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In 1986 Apple added MIDI and audio-recording capabilities to its computers, and in 1989 Apple Corps sued again, claiming violation of the 1981 settlement agreement. In 1991 another settlement of around $26.5 million was reached. At this time, an Apple employee named Jim Reekes added a sampled system sound called xylophone to the Macintosh operating system, but Apple's legal department objected citing the agreement with Apple Corps. Reekes renamed the sound to sosumi, which he asserted was Japanese and meant nothing musical, but in fact can be read phonetically as "So, sue me".

Related Topics:
1986 - MIDI - 1989 - 1981 - 1991 - Xylophone - Sosumi - Japanese

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The 1991 settlement outlines the rights each company has to the Apple trademark. While Apple Corps was given the right to use the name on any "creative works whose principal content is music", Apple Computer was given the right to use the name on "goods or services...used to reproduce, run, play or otherwise deliver such content," but not on content distributed on physical media. http://news.com.com/Apple+vs.+Apple+Perfect+harmony/2100-1027_3-5378401.html In other words, Apple Computer agreed that it would not package, sell or distribute physical music materials.

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In September 2003 Apple Computer was sued by Apple Corps again, this time for introducing iTunes and the iPod which Apple Corps believed was a violation of the previous agreement by Apple not to distribute music. Some observers believe the wording of the previous settlement favors Apple Computer in this case. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2004/tc20040930_9317_tc056.htm Other observers speculate that Apple Computer may be forced to offer a much larger settlement this time which may even result in Apple Corps becoming a major shareholder in Apple Computer or, perhaps may result in Apple Computer splitting the iPod and related business into a separate firm. http://www.legalzoom.com/articles/article_content/article11325.html

Related Topics:
2003 - ITunes - IPod

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As of September 2005 the suit was not resolved.

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Apple v. Franklin

In 1982 Apple filed a lawsuit against Franklin Computer Corp., alleging that Franklin's ACE 100 personal computer used illegal copies of Apple's operating system and ROM. Decided in Franklin's favor but reversed by the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Apple v. Franklin established the fundamental basis of copyright of computer software.

Related Topics:
Franklin Computer Corp. - Operating system - ROM - Apple v. Franklin

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Apple v. Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, et al

In 1988, after the introduction of Microsoft Windows 1.0, Apple filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard alleging that Windows and HP's NewWave violated Apple's copyrights in the Macintosh user interface. Apple v. Microsoft was one of the significant look and feel copyright lawsuits of the 1980s. After several years in court, Apple's claims against Microsoft were dismissed, primarily due to a preexisting license to Microsoft from Apple. The decision was upheld on appeal in 1994.

Related Topics:
1988 - Microsoft Windows - Microsoft - Hewlett-Packard - NewWave - Apple v. Microsoft - Look and feel - 1980s - 1994

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Trademark dispute with Abdul Traya

In July 1998 Abdul Traya and Stan Berg registered the domain name www.appleimac.com, two months after Apple announced the iMac, in an attempt to draw attention to the web-hosting business they were running out of their parents' basement. A note on their site stated that their plan was to "generate traffic to our servers and try to put the domain to sale. " http://news.com.com/2100-1023-221921.html After a legal dispute that lasted until April 1999, Traya and Apple settled out of court with Apple paying legal fees and giving Traya a "token payment" in exchange for the domain name. http://www.macobserver.com/news/99/april/990427/applevsteen.html

Related Topics:
1998 - Abdul Traya - Stan Berg - IMac - 1999

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Defamation dispute with Carl Sagan

In 1994 Apple was sued by Carl Sagan for using his name as the internal code-name for the Power Macintosh 7100. Sagan lost the suit twice. See the Carl Sagan article for details.

Related Topics:
1994 - Carl Sagan - The Carl Sagan article

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Trademark dispute with Benjamin Cohen

In November 2000, Benjamin Cohen of CyberBritain registered the domain name, itunes.co.uk for an mp3 search engine; his first choice, "tunes.co.uk" was taken. However, he never actually used the domain name for this purpose or ran any company using this name. In fact the domain name was inoperative for a long time. Apple was granted a UK restricted (non music) trademark for ITUNES on March 23 2001, and launched its popular iTunes music store service in the UK in 2004. Once they had done this, Mr Cohen reactivated the domain name, which was then for a while redirected to iTunes biggest rival, Napster. The domain name then forwarded to CyberBritain's cash back/rewards website. In 2005 Apple took the matter to the Dispute Resolution Service operated by .uk domain name registry Nominet UK, stating that they had rights in the name "iTunes" and that the use of the domain name by Mr Cohen's company was Abusive (these being the two tests under the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS)). The dispute was not resolved at the free mediation stage and Apple paid for an independent Expert to decide the case. The Expert decided in Apple's favor in the dispute - the decision is available at http://www.nominet.org.uk/DisputeResolution/Decisions/Drs02223Itunes.html. Mr Cohen immediately launched a media offensive stating that the DRS was biased towards large businesses and making frequent threats to sue Nominet. This version of events gained wide press coverage and although Nominet responded by publicising the facts of the case their version of events did not capture public imagination to the same extent. However, Mr Cohen then stated that the DRS was unfair for a number of reasons and stated that he would take Nominet to the High Court via a process called Judicial Review. Nominet said that he should appeal the case via the appeal process in the DRS. Mr Cohen refused to do this, and after several months did issue proceedings. The judge at first instance rejected his case, and Mr Cohen's company has asked for a rehearing. The case continues, but in the interim the domain name has been transferred to Apple in accordance with the Expert's decision and it now points to the music site. The High Court proceedings are not an appeal of the Nominet DRS Decision.

Related Topics:
2000 - Benjamin Cohen - March 23 - 2001 - 2004 - Napster - 2005 - .uk - Domain name - Registry - Nominet UK - High Court

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Apple v. Does

In November 2004, three popular websites about Apple rumors released information about two unreleased Apple products, the Mac mini and an as yet unreleased product codenamed Asteroid, also known as Project Q97. Apple Insider, Power Page, and Think Secret were all brought into the suit under the grounds that they published trade secrets. The suit has brought up the current status of bloggers, and whether they hold the same protection that journalists do. In February 2005 it was decided by a court official in California that the bloggers do not have the same shield laws as journalists. They were forced to give up their sources, leading to multiple other lawsuits. In a related case, all three websites have gone on to fight the journalistic status decision, and are also in the process of settling with Apple Computer.

Related Topics:
2004 - Apple rumors - Mac mini - Think Secret - 2005

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iPod Class-Action Settlement

In May 2005 Apple entered into a settlement regarding the battery life on iPod music players sold prior to May 2004. Eligible members of the class are entitled to extended warranties, store credit, cash compensation, or battery replacement.

Related Topics:
2005 - IPod - 2004

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