
When word came out on Thursday about Apple’s
legal challenge to the seemingly innocuous GreenNYC logo, claiming that the
looped green apple would cause “consumer confusion resulting in damage and
injury” to Apple, and will “cause dilution of the distinctiveness” of
Apple’s trademark, the first thought was: They’ve got to be kidding.
Apple, Inc. has filed a suit to prevent New York City's non-profit 'GreeNYC'
initiative from using a logo that incorporates an apple in its design.
Commentators have noted the substantial
differences between the two designs, not to mention the irony
of this sort of infringement claim. The city of New York has filed a
counter-claim to it rejected, and even possibly the
cancellation of Apple's own logo in light of the long history of the
nickname 'The Big Apple' to describe the city."