Apple v Apple

I just came across an interesting case in the world of branding. It seems that Apple Computer and Apple Corps (cute name) have an ongoing battle over their brands and have a trademark dispute. Hmm, who has the upper-hand in this one?

Anyway, Apple Corps is a music publisher and Apple Computer, well, you know, makes computers. It seems that there was an old agreement which states that Apple Computer would not enter the music business. Have they?

I guess that iTunes and iPods are music portals and music players, respectively, and are not really publishers of music. It just seems a little fishy that their two names are so similar. It could've started out as a coincidence, but you know how greedy folks can get when the cash registers start to ring.

Do these two organizations do the same thing? I don't really think so. If Apple Corps was smart, they may just take advantage of the similarity and use it to their benefit in their marketing. Borrow from some of the messaging of the other Apple and go with the similarities, not the differences. Put an Apple in your Apple or iTunes has an Apple in its Corps. That sort of thing.

I don't know, but it seems that there are enough issues out there in the world of branding and identity and also enough business and money to go around for this type of haggling to occur. It is a great case study for marketing classes.

What do you think? Do you think that Apple and Apple are too similar? Does Apple Corps have a case? Do you care? Please post your thoughts and feelings here as we'd love to hear from you. Mike