I Had No Idea!


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I was just browsing( not fit enough to surf) around the web and I found an apple disclaimer which is quite unusual. The disclaimer is on the first few pages of the " macox sever manual"

Here is a snippet : "The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.,

registered in the U.S. and other countries. Use of the

“keyboard†Apple logo (Option-Shift-K) for commercial

purposes without the prior written consent of Apple

may constitute trademark infringement and unfair

competition in violation of federal and state laws."

I had always thought that option-shift-k was the one loop hole that allowed commercial use.. I guess not. Well, I use it for personal use.

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Any use of said logo without the express written consent of Apple would be blatant trademark infringement.

Nit: it's infringement if the use of the trademark "is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive".

(IANAL, TINLA, etc.)

Edited by jcl
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Any use of said logo without the express written consent of Apple would be blatant trademark infringement.

Nit: it's infringement if the use of the trademark "is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive".

(IANAL, TINLA, etc.)

Yes, true. However, the Apple logo is a very distinct logo, I think it would be safe to say anyone who tried to use a similar logo for a business (providing the business is in the same field as Apple Inc.) has seen or heard of the Apple brand, thus I would bet Apple would go after them, even if its on the grounds of just protecting the mark for the sheer reason, if they don't, they could potentially lose it.

If I recall correctly, even using a name such as Applet for example, could lead to a potential trademark issue - assuming you sell computer/electronics.

B

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Apple would sue apple trees if they thought they had a chance in court. I can think of commercial uses that should be non-infringing but I can imagine Apple suing over all of them. Sigh.

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... Use of the “keyboard†Apple logo (Option-Shift-K) for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of Apple may constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws."

I had always thought that option-shift-k was the one loop hole that allowed commercial use.. I guess not. Well, I use it for personal use. [emphasis added]

They only mention the Option-Shift-K command to clarify what the Apple-logo key does, that's why the command's in parenthesis, not to claim that key combination is copyrighted. So go ahead and use it.

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Just got off the phone with my old buddy Steve.

Say... Ah.... Option-Shift-K.... Steve would like to know your home address and Name...

He'll be sending a couple of his lawyers over... They want to talk to you....

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Yes, true. However, the Apple logo is a very distinct logo

It's distinct alright, reminds me of an old Beatles album cover

Mark

I vaguely recall Apple Records and Apple Computer went to court over the similarity, though I don't remember who sued who. I think Record sued Computer.

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Apple Records has been suing Apple Inc. every few years sense 1984. I think the last one Apple Records got a huge load of cash to end future actions.

As for option - shift -K doesn't that only work if you viewing with a Mac. I have the code somewhere that use to let the apple show up in most browsers.

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