Apple tries to obtain global rights to the image of an apple, raising suspicions about its use

Apple is no stranger to intellectual property debates. In fact, it could be said that it has a central role, both for the vehement protection of its image and for its legal clashes of a commercial nature. Today the news has to do with the first, and that is that the Cupertino firm is trying register as own a generic black and white image of a Granny Smith apple.

Countries like Japan, Turkey, Israel and Armenia have accepted it as valid, but its rejection in Switzerland is generating some controversy.

As reported by the magazine Wired, Apple has been trying to register the apple photograph as a trademark in Switzerland since at least 2017. The Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property recently admitted it, but only partially and under “the legal principle that it considers generic images of common goods (such as apples ) part of the public domain”. This decision did not please Apple, which seeks to be able to use the image in all kinds of goods and services and has appealed the decision.

At this point, Fruit-Union Suisse, a century-old agricultural organization that promotes the consumption of nationally grown fruits, bursts in. According to Fruit-Union Suisse, Apple’s demands are clearly excessive and the use of a generic image could even jeopardize the use of its own logo, a red apple with a white cross. These circumstances, together with Apple’s history, have made them position themselves against the claims of the technology giant. It will be a judge who has to settle the situation.

Regardless of the verdict, which could take years, Apple is adamantly against the use of images of apples (and even other types of fruit) in logos, as well as the presence of the word “apple.” As Wired recalls, the company has come to sue a company whose logo was the silhouette of a pear, NGOs and schoolssingers (such as one Frankie Pineapple) and all kinds of businesses, large or small, so that they could not register their logos or names based on the iconic emblem of the bitten apple. Given the facts, obtaining the intellectual property rights to a real apple could fuel further litigation.