Got a blog tip? Contact us

« Ivana trumps Donald's trademark | Main | Can good design save lives? »

Beatles beaten

In the now-historic trademark battle between Apple Corps and Apple Computer, the computer company was found not liable for violating its trademark license agreement.

Distressingly, the grounds on which Apple Computer won were stupider than anything I could have come up with. The London High Court ruled that iTunes was not a seller of music, but rather "a data transmission service." Is grooved vinyl or magnetic tape any less a data transmission device than an mp3? Doesn't that make Sam Goody a "data transmission service"?

Look for a different opinion from Apple about whether they sell "music" when arguing that they need to implement extreme-DRM at the request of the music industry.