Apple sues NYC: logo is forbidden fruit

New York City, universally known as The Big Apple, is facing a lawsuit from Steve Jobs’ Apple Computer Inc. for, of all things, trademark infringement.

The suit stems from New York’s environmental awareness campaign, GreeNYC, and its logo, which uses the outline of an apple, complete with a little leaf on top. Filed in September, the suit had gone unnoticed until this week. The California computer giant claims the drawing is too similar to its ubiquitous trademark.

The city’s response? Bite my apple.

New York City Corp. Counsel Michael Cardozo quickly filed a counterclaim to have Apple’s case thrown out, citing differences between both logos, and the fact that Apple Computer does not sell mugs, caps or other items, making confusion unlikely. He added that NYC & Company, the non-profit city marketing organization behind the logo, is dedicated to increasing tourism to New York and all of its sites—including the various Apple stores—ultimately benefiting the computer company.

“[GreeNYC’s logo] so closely resembles Apple’s [logo] that its use is likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception in the minds of consumers,” wrote Apple Computer’s lawyers in their September filing with the Trademark Trial and Appeal board objecting to the logo.

The company cited its New York flagship store, the giant glass cube on 5th Avenue, as a tourist attraction, and claimed people walking around carrying bags, wearing caps or drinking out of bottles emblazoned with GreeNYC apples would “likely cause dilution of the distinctiveness of [Apple Computer’s brand], resulting in damage and injury to the company.”