Dispute over trademark rights: Jazz musician wins in court against Apple

In the dispute over the Apple Music brand name, Apple lost in court to jazz trumpeter Charles Bertini. There had previously been problems with the Beatles company Apple Corps because of trademark rights.

Apple has suffered a setback in the dispute over the brand name of its music streaming service in the United States: A Washington appeals court ruled in favor of jazz trumpeter Charles Bertini, who had opposed the registration of the Apple Music name.

Bertini asserted that he himself had been using his Apple Jazz brand for live performances since 1985 and that there was therefore a likelihood of confusion. It was initially unclear whether Apple wanted to appeal the court decision and go to the US Supreme Court. However, Apple is known for strictly defending its trademark rights.

Beatles company quarreled with Steve Jobs

Using its own company name has gotten Apple into trouble in the past – and that had to do with the Beatles. In 1968 the members of the legendary band set up the London company Apple Corps to do business around their music. Just ten years later, Apple Corps sued Apple Computer, a company newly founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne, alleging trademark infringement.

The dispute was settled with a simple deal: Apple stays out of the music business, Apple Corps stays out of the computer industry. But the deal was put to the test when Apple launched a music download platform, iTunes. Apple Corps accused the other party of breach of contract, but lost in court.

Apple Jazz has been around since the 1990s

Finally, in 2007, Steve Jobs bought all trademark rights to the Apple name from Apple Corps. This allowed Apple to refer to a trademark used in the music business since 1968. For example, the green apple from Apple Corps can be found on Beatles records and CDs. But with the argument that it was used earlier, the iPhone group was only able to score in the first instance in the dispute with jazz musician Bertini.

The court of appeal, however, saw the following problem: The group had registered the Apple Music brand for live performances, among other things. But that was something different than the use of the Apple trademark by the Beatles for music recordings, the appeal judges decided – and rejected the registration of Apple Music. Bertini has also been distributing recorded music from his music company under the Apple Jazz name since the mid-1990s. The US technology group only launched the Apple Music streaming service decades later, in June 2015.

Cartel Office takes a close look at Apple’s market power

But not only in the USA, but also in Germany Apple has suffered a defeat. The Bundeskartellamt has decided that Apple “is a company of outstanding cross-market importance for competition”. Thanks to new rules, the Bonn competition authorities can take stronger action against the US group.

Cartel Office head Andreas Mundt justified the decision with Apple’s cross-market economic power position. A spokesman for the technology company, on the other hand, criticized the Bundeskartellamt’s classification as incorrect. Apple announced that it would take action against the decision.