In recent years we have seen some aggressive copyright litigations like the lawsuit against Hello Games by broadcasting giant Sky for using the word ‘Sky’ in the title of their game “No Mans Sky” or the Ubisoft game “Gods and Monsters” which had to be renamed to Immortals: Fenyx Rising due to a lawsuit by Monster energy.
Now, we have a similar situation at hand where Apple has issued a legal notice against the Ukrainian indie film director Vasyl Moskalenko, who wrote the comedy film titled Apple-Man.
If you think that this film might have to do something with Apple (the company) or its products then you are mistaken. The movie is a satire based on the superhero genre and its protagonist “Apple-man” has the superpower to levitate Apples (fruit) which he uses to fight his enemies. The film was crowdfunded through Kickstarter and raised $120,000 to begin production.
The movie has already been approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), Apple is seeking to have the trademark registration application denied by mounting “an aggressive opposition.”
The Cupertino giant has initiated trial proceedings against the director over concerns that consumers are likely to believe that “Apple-man is associated with, approved by, or even endorsed by Apple” the company stated in a 467-page court filing.
Director Moskalenko has stated that his movie is about Apples, the fruit, and there is no mention of Apple (the company) in his movie.
The indie movie director stated in an interview that “if my registration would be denied, there are no guarantees that Apple wouldn’t demand to delete my film after its release.”
“It actually looks like a trademark bullying,” added Moskalenko. “I still hope this situation is just a misunderstanding. I am open to negotiations and hope we can resolve this dispute,” concluded the Ukrainian filmmaker.
This situation highlights a significant problem with copyright laws where companies copyright a common word and monopolize its use. Maybe it’s time that we renamed the fruit. What are your opinions on the matter? do let us know in the comments below.
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(Source)
