Apple Takes Australian Supermarket Chain to Court Over New Logo

It’s the Americans vs. the Australians again in a battle over branding, but this time it isn’t Katy Perry vs. Katie Perry. Nope, this one finds computer giant Apple going after the Woolworths Supermarkets chain (unrelated to one we’re familiar with in the US) over their now year-old rebranding effort which uses the shape of an apple to form the letter W. Apple apparently finds this a bit too close to their own iconic apple, particularly in that Woolworths has wandered into more tech-y merchandise at times, and as such, have decided to take the fight to Australian courts. Here’s a bit about the rumble down under from the Aussie perspective:

Since it unveiled its new logo a year ago, Woolworths has been at pains to avoid using the word ”apple” in commentary.

The man who designed it, Hans Hulsbosch, said Apple was taking trademark protection ”to the extreme”. ”Based on this logic, they would have to take action against every fruit-seller.”

All of this follows a suit early last year the company brought against the city of New York over a new GreeNYC logo.

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