Apples and Trademarks

The BBC has a report on the beginning of trademark infringement suit pitting John, Paul, George and Ringo -- known to Baby Boomers as the Beatles -- against computer giant Apple.

The Beatles set up Apple Corps in 1968, and Apple Computer started in 1976 in Silicon Valley. The parties had a trademark truce of sorts, which lasted until the Apple starting selling music through its wildly popular iTunes service. The Fab Four's licensing firm claims that the two companies reached an agreement in 1991 in which Apple Computer agreed not to get into the music-selling business.

Given our recent discussion of trademark law in Mass Media Law, the issue arises as to whether "Apple" is an enforceable trademark. What do you think? Is the term generic, suggestive or arbitrary, as we've described those terms within the context of trademark law?

Partly due to the dispute, Beatles music has never been available for download through iTunes.