The trial has started and this promises to be an interesting battle. The Independent (below) indicates that Steve Jobs had offered to purchase the name “Apple Corps” from The Beatles before the introduction of the Itunes store. The offer was refused, and Apple Computer later decided it was cheaper to fight it out in court rather than settle.

Independent Online Edition > Legal: “One analyst has estimated that Apple Computer would have to pay 60m pounds to settle the case.”

Compare this to the $1b in revenue that Apple Computer has earned from Itunes and Steve Jobs might have wished that he’d settled before this is all over. Afterall, Itunes would never have launched without the Apple brand name behind it, as so many failed MP3 offerings that came before and after can prove.

To put this in perspective, do you think McDonalds would litigate against a company that used the golden arches with a bite taken out of it as a logo for a Steak Burger joint? Do you think McDonalds would win? Well that’s basically what Apple Computer is up against.

At the end of the day, Steve Jobs may have some difficulty getting the apple peel out from between his teeth. . .

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As a follow up to a previous post, “Apple versus Apple: Direct Comparison” regarding the face off between Apple Computer and The Beatles, it would appear that Apple computer is in a poor position according to sources quoted in Information Week below.

InformationWeek Apple iTunes Beatles Say ‘Apple’ Is Forbidden Fruit March 29, 2006: “Thomas Speiss, of Baker & Hostetler in Los Angeles, said that three of the most important factors in deciding intellectual property rights appear to be in the music company’s favor. The factors likely to weigh most heavily in determining whether Steve Jobs’ company has infringed on the Apple music company’s name, logo and territory are: the similarity of the marks, the relatedness of goods and services and the similarity of marketing channels.

‘It’s a slam dunk for the Beatles,’ Speiss said during an interview Wednesday. ‘”

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