Brands take care of their own logos as it's an integral part of their identities, which is why people often know what brand a particular object is based on their logo. For example, people would know an Apple device even from afar because of their infamous Apple logo with a bitten piece.
Prepear's logo (left) and Apple's logo (right) apparently had the same commercial impression, according to the tech giant.
Apple Files Notice of Opposition
However, the tech giant believes that a fruit logo from a meal prep company Prepear could "cause dilution of distinctiveness" with the Apple logo and might make it hard for people to distinguish Apple and Prepear's services, which it argues would be a violation of the Lanham Act.
In a report by The Verge, Apple has filed a notice of opposition against the company because it claims that Prepear's pear logo is too close to its trademarked apple logo.
For those who are not aware, the Lanham Act "protects the owner of a federally registered mark against the use of similar marks if such use is likely to result in consumer confusion, or if the dilution of a famous mark is likely to occur," according to the Cornwell Law School.
The whole fruit logo fiasco happened when Super Healthy Kids, Prepear's parent company, filed to register the pear logo for trademark.
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Similar Vibe?
So, why did Apple file the notice of opposition?
Based on the notice that the tech giant filed, it described Prepear's logo as a minimalist fruit design with a single right-angled leaf that "readily calls to mind Apple's famous Apple logo" that they believe would create a similar impression.
"The Apple Marks are so famous and instantly recognizable that the similarities in Applicant's Mark will overshadow any differences and cause the ordinary consumer to believe the Applicant is related to, affiliated with or endorsed by Apple," the notice further claimed.
Prepear Responds
As a response to the notice of opposition, the co-founder of Prepear app Russell Monson has started a petition saying that their company is just a small business with only five employees.
Furthermore, Monsoon said the company could not afford a protracted legal battle, especially with a giant company like Apple, saying that what they're currently facing is a "terrifying" experience.
The petition is called "Save the Pear from Apple!" and has already amassed more than 23,000 signatures supporting them as of writing.
Meanwhile, co-owner Natalie Monson has also posted on her Instagram account that she is not pushing everyone to stop using Apple products, but she wants to make a stand against Apple's "aggressive legal action."
The Prepear app is a meal prep and recipe app that allows its users to organize recipes and create custom meal plans.
Fruit Logos in the Industry
Besides Apple and Prepear, fruit logos are not uncommon in the industry.
In fact, Leeroy has listed down ten companies that have fruit logos, including BlackBerry, Fresh, juicy Films, The Great Catering Company, and more.Check out some of them below:
1. Cherie Hairspa
2. Raleigh Downtown Farmer's Market
3.Oasis
4. FreshSquare
5. Woolworths
6. Fresh
7. Costa Rica
8. Banana Bird
9. Orange Investments
10. Annana
Will Apple come after these companies using fruit ogos too? Probably not.
Although some of these companies use a minimalistic approach like Apple and Prepear, they don't exactly give off the Apple logo's feeling, like apparently how Prepear's did, based on their notice.
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This article is owned by TechTimes.
Written by: Nhx Tingson
