Apple wins dispute over “citrus” logo of keyboard manufacturer
Apple has won a dispute at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) against Chinese keyboard manufacturer Yichun Qinningmeng Electronics. According to MacRumors, the company challenged the registration of a trademark depicting a citrus fruit whose lower segments resemble keyboard keys. The regulator partially denied the Chinese company trademark rights for the logo, while also acknowledging that the fruit symbol does not closely resemble an apple.
Yichun Qinningmeng Electronics, which produces mechanical keyboards and keycaps and also sells solar panels, used a citrus-shaped logo. The lower segments of the fruit were designed as keyboard keys, while the green leaf was tilted to the left rather than to the right as in Apple's logo. However, Apple argued that the design resembled a bitten apple with a detached leaf.
EUIPO acknowledged the presence of “minor common features” between the two designs but also highlighted numerous differences, concluding that the signs were not conceptually similar. Nevertheless, the regulator largely sided with Apple because of the company’s reputation and the possibility that consumers could associate the two logos. Apple argued that the citrus logo could allow the Chinese company to unfairly benefit from Apple’s reputation. Although Yichun Qinningmeng Electronics will not be able to continue the trademark registration process, its application to use the logo for solar panels will still be considered.
