Apple Sued Over iBooks Mark
In more Apple trademark news, Apple is being sued by a "small family of publishing companies" in the Southern District of New York who are alleging, among other things, false designation of origin under the Lanham Act and various New York state law claims.
Plaintiffs allege that they are the owners of the common law trademarks "ibooks" and "ipicturebooks," which have been used for more than 11 years in connection with "a wide range of print and electronic books." Plaintiffs allege that Apple's use of the iBooks mark in connection with the iPad, iPhone and iTunes store has overwhelmed the alleged reputation and goodwill of plaintiffs' marks such that iBooks is now "forever linked . . . with Apple in the minds of consumers."
The complaint raises a number of potentially interesting issues relating to priority, assignment in gross, estoppel/laches/acquiescence and fraud on the PTO, along with the typical likelihood of confusion question. The complaint also contains a fairly detailed factual statement about the plaintiffs and their alleged marks as well as about Apple's alleged actions.
The case cite is J.T. Colby & Co. v. Apple, Inc., No. 11-civ-4060 (S.D.N.Y.), filed June 15, 2011. You can find a copy of the complaint (PDF, 35 pages), minus exhibits, here.
