14 DAY TRIAL // The American chain of department stores known as Sears is advertising a tool kit called “iWork.” The label bears an iWork print that is almost identical to Apple’s. The company used the exact same fonts as Apple, and went as far as adding a second Apple-ish touch - standing surface reflection.
As shown in the image (click to enlarge), Sears is no stranger to Apple’s promotional materials.
While Apple itself forgot to add its typical “reflection” [admark=1](which gives the impression that the product is standing on, or hovering over a shiny surface), Sears went ahead and included the glare.
Check out the full size image here.
9to5mac reports on this finding by Macenstein which points to the listing on Sears’ website for iWork at a $39.99 price point.
While this can hardly be called Apple news, it does make an interesting story to follow.
This second image is a collection of Apple iWork boxes which the website used for comparison to show the real iWork logo.
Now that the word is out, Sears can expect a call from Apple’s legal. What they have here is trademark infringement.
Wikipedia explains it best:
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the license).
Infringement may occur when one party, the "infringer", uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers.
An owner of a trademark may commence legal proceedings against a party which infringes its registration.
Although Sears appears to be advertising its product as a “PC toolkit,” the store is merely using “pc.” as an abbreviation for “pieces” (how many tools are in the box).
For those who aren’t familiar with Apple’s iWork, it is a suite of productivity applications similar to Microsoft’s Office software.
Apple’s is comprised of three programs: Pages (word processor), Keynote (presentation making software), and Numbers (for spreadsheets).
The suite is also available for iPad owners, albeit in a scaled down form.
