14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is being sued by a Chinese clothing company who says the Cupertino-based tech giant’s App Store logo copies the one it’s been using since 2009.
KON has filed a lawsuit against Apple on claims on Chinese copyright law violation, asking the Beijing People’s Court to forbid the company from selling devices that use the logo and also to pay damages for its alleged losses. Furthermore, KON seeks a public apology from Apple should it win the lawsuit.
As for the economic losses that the Chinese company is asking for, no specifics were provided, though it’s not very clear how the App Store affected sales of its products just because it used a similar logo.
iOS 11 update
The App Store logo has been redesigned with the release of iOS 11 when Apple picked a simpler design with an A made from popsicle sticks, instead of using a pencil, a paintbrush, and a ruler as it was the case of the logo available in previous iOS versions.
Following the update, however, the App Store logo indeed looks very similar to the one of the Chinese brand, which is being used on hats, T-shirts, and hoodies.
Cases like this don’t typically get a ruling overnight, so expect the Beijing court to make a decision sometime next year, with Apple to either seek a settlement or go to war and then file appeals if it loses the lawsuit. It goes without saying that Apple hasn’t released a statement on this suit and the chances are that no comment would be made anytime soon.
This isn’t the first time when Apple is brought to court by a Chinese firm for allegedly violating trademarks. Back in 2016, the firm was sued by a leather goods manufacturer called Xintong Tiandi Technology, who claimed that Apple’s iPhone violated its own series of products called “IPHONE.” The funny thing is that Apple actually lost the lawsuit, but the iPhone name continues to be used in China as well.
