It was reported earlier this year, precisely in August, that Apple Inc. had filed a lawsuit against a company over the choice of its logo. The company, whose name reflects its logo and is registered with the name Prepear, helps its subscribers prepare meals and create shopping lists, through its app available both in the App Store and Google Play Store.
Even though Prepear’s logo is that of a pear, Apple still contended that it bears a very close semblance to its own logo. Prepear founder Natalie Monson accused Apple of stifling small businesses who may not have the financial muscle to fight the tech giant in extended court cases. She insisted that their trademark pear logo does not in any way come close to looking like Apple’s logo and could therefore not hurt the Apple brand. The company is thus grappling with thousands of dollars in bills to sustain its defense in the suit.
According to court papers filed by Apple, it tried to rationalize how a pear logo can look like its Apple logo, as Prepear’s pear was designed in a manner which clearly mimics Apple’s globally acclaimed logo and may give Prepear an unfair commercial advantage. Prepear however sought a different path for its survival by instituting a petition aimed at forcing Apple to abandon the court case.
The petition drawn up by Prepear parent Super Healthy Kids has already gotten over 250,000 signatures, and the tech giant may have noticed the possible backlash if it insists on pursuing the case. And now it appears that Apple may cave in and this might be exactly what is going on.
Filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, show that proceedings relating to Apple and Prepear are to be delayed for 30 days as both parties try to settle the matter out of court. If no settlement is reached before January 23, 2021, the proceedings will continue on that date. In addition, either side can decide not to wait until that date and resume court proceedings at any time.
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