Richard Kay wrote:
World Trade Press
INSIDE MOVES - Beatles' suit could upset the Apple cart
GORDON MASSON, 09.13.04, 11:50 AM ET
LONDON --- Beatles fan Steve Jobs could lose a large bite of his Apple
to his idols.
The Beatles' company, Apple Corps., is involved in a legal battle with
Jobs' Apple Computer, claiming the hardware manufacturer is in breach of
a 1991 agreement that that forbids it from using the trademark for any
application "whose principle content is music." The two companies have
been involved in a number of court battles over the years involving the
use of the Apple trademark.
Word among the legal community is that an out of court settlement could
be imminent and that it will massively dwarf the $26.5 million paid to
the Fab Four's company in 1991 in a row over trademark use.
One lawyer told Daily Variety, "People are expecting this to be the
biggest settlement anywhere in legal history, outside of a class action
suit. The numbers could be mind boggling."
Earlier this year, the computer company failed in a bid to have the
latest case heard in the United States, when a judge in London's High
Court in London granted jurisdiction in the U.K.
The litigation is seen as one of the main reasons behind Apple Corps.
preventing the Beatles catalog of songs being made available on the
computer company's iTunes song store.
Some speculation suggests the settlement could see Apple Corps.
becoming a major shareholder in the computer company, with Paul
McCartney maybe even becoming a board member.
Lord Grabiner and Daniel Toledano are acting for Apple Computer, while
Geoffrey Vos and Daniel Alexander are representing Apple Corps.
Despite splitting in 1970, the Beatles interests are still administered
by Apple Corps., which is owned by McCartney, Ringo Starr and the
families of John Lennon and George Harrison.
An Apple Computer rep declined to comment on the pending litigation and
pointed to an earlier statement that said the two companies have
"differeing interpretations" of the agreement.
For more information, please visit http://www.variety.com.
Daily Variety
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In all honesty, most people think 'computer' not 'recording company from
last century' when they hear 'Apple'.
Strangely, I have often thought the startup chime on some macs sounds
remarkably like the openning note from Hard Day's Night...
Maybe they are still smarting over selling the rights to most of the
music, if memory serves me correctly (which would be novel), one of the
few tracks Paul actually hung onto was his little baby The Long and
Winding Road, you'll need to speak to Michael Jackson for most of the
rest, which may be going cheap soon...
Cheers
Paul
Hopefully one day we will all want to sue each other then settle out of
court..