November 2018. Apple has failed to stop the European registration of the device marks Banana Computer and Banana Mobile by the Spanish company Banana. The Opposition Division of the European Trademark Office EUIPO concluded that when all is said and done, an apple is not a banana.
Bite
Apple’s case rested on the fact that both trademarks depicted fruit and a bite had been taken out of both. However, EUIPO concluded that none of this showed evidence that the trademarks were very similar.
Pear
Apple countered by pointing out that in 2017 it had stopped Pear Technologies from registering a logo of a pear as a trademark. Maybe so, was the reply, but the cases were not comparable and in any case, apples and pears were much closer in appearance than apples and bananas.
Appeal
EUIPO rejected Apple’s claim in January, whereupon Apple lodged an appeal. The Board of Appeal confirmed the original decision at the beginning of September.