Apple and Prepear have finally reached an agreement to settle the trademark dispute brought forth by Apple. The tech giant will allow Prepear to use the fruit logo with a subtle change. Both companies are pleased by the outcome.
The legal dispute between both companies began in August when the Cupertino tech giant opposed a trademark application by the creators of the recipe and meal-planning app Prepear. Apple objected to the proposed Prepear logo trademark on claimed similarity to its own logo.
Prepear and Apple “amicably” settle trademark dispute
Prepear co-founder and COO Russ Monson in a statement to iPhone in Canada said it had “amicably resolved its trademark issue with Apple.” Monson said that the company will “make a small change to our logo in the coming weeks,” and that the Prepear “happy” with the settlement terms.
The solution to the trademark dispute is a subtly changed logo. The company has modified the shape of the leaf in its pear design to make it look visually distinguished from Apple’s own fruit logo. The company will use the updated logo for its logo and app icon.
Apple first publically aired its complaints about the pear-shaped logo when it objected to a trademark application from meal planning firm Super Healthy Kids last August. The original logo was a minimalistic outline of a pear with a singular leaf. Apple claimed that the design resembled its “famous Apple Logo” and “creates a similar commercial impression.” Even though the only two things the logos have in common is a fruit and an almond-shaped leaf.
Prepear has said that despite the legal dispute costing them thousands of dollars, they plan to continue the fight to protect small businesses:
Prepear then accused Apple of using “bullying” tactics that cost the meal-planning company “many thousands of dollars” and resulted in an employed being laid off. Monson took his fight to Change.org with a petition to “save the pear” and “end Apple’s aggressive opposition of businesses with fruit logos.”
“Apple has been opposing small businesses with fruit-related logos by starting expensive legal action even when those logos don’t look anything like Apple’s logo, or aren’t in the same line of business as Apple at all,” the petition read.
In December, it was reported that Apple and Prepear entered settlement negotiations in the United States.
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