When Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computers (AAPL) in 1977, little did he know where the technology would take him and the ensuing battle between him and the Beatles, whom he had admittedly chosen the name Apple over in respect to their company Apple Corps., but was also his favorite band.
Apple Corps was started in 1968 by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to look after the business interests of the music group and incorporated a green apple as its logo.
What was the result of Jobs attempting to show respect? An ongoing legal battle with the Beatle company over the logo and name. It began with a trademark-infringement lawsuit from the Beatles in 1978. That was originally settled for the amount of $80,000 and a promise from Jobs that Apple wouldn't ever enter into the music business.
Of course little was it known at that time where computers would be headed and as a result of the inbuilt music capabilities of Apple's computers, the Beatle's Apple Corps sued them 10 years later.
At that time in 1991 a $26 million settlement was reached with Apple Corps being allowed to control the logo and name in the music realm while Apple Inc. was allowed to work within the computer world.
The reason this battle has continued is that unforeseen advances in technology kept the issue being revisited. It has been faced again recently as the iPod has forced another showdown from the parties. The latest tussle resulted in a judge saying that Apple Inc. didn't break the 1991 deal, but Apple Corp appealed the decision. After all of that the two sides got together and have settle the differences before going to court again over it.
The financials of the deal weren't released, but Apple now has ownership of the trademarks centering on "Apple," which will include the disputed logo for iTunes. The Beatles' company received an agreement from Apple to license specific trademarks related to music back to Apple Corps.
"We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks," Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "It feels good to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future."
"It is great to put this dispute behind us and move on. The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us," said Apple Corps manager Neil Aspinall. "We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful cooperation with them."
» Apple, Beatles say: I wanna hold your hand! from BizzBites.com
After decades of battling, Apple and the Beatles have reached an agreement that may eventually lead to selling downloads on the popular iTune site. [Read More]
Tracked on: February 6, 2007 12:53 AM | Permalink to Trackback