It’s been a few months since Apple raised some concerns over a logo trademark. Prepear had garnered the ire of Apple over the company’s pear logo earlier this year, but now the companies are working towards a settlement.
The receipt and meal-planning company Prepear (owned by Super Healthy Kids) has a very distinct logo in its own right. It is an outline of a pear, and it absolutely does not look like an apple — let alone Apple’s trademarked apple logo. However, Apple took umbrage with the proposed trademark application from Prepear, saying the company’s logo was too familiar to its own. Apple said the proposed pear trademark logo “consists of a minimalistic fruit design with a right-angled leaf, which readily calls to mind Apple’s famous Apple Logo and creates a similar commercial impression”.
Now, according to a report from MacRumors, the pair of companies are moving towards a settlement. You can see both companies’ logos just below.
Filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trial and Appeal board last week reveal that a request for trial suspension has been submitted. The request aims for a pause for 30 days. The documentation reveals that both “parties are actively engaged in negotiations for the settlement of this matter”, which suggests they are trying to work out an out-of-court settlement on the matter.
The proceedings will automatically restart on January 23 if there is no settlement reached. And, despite the pause right now, either company can continue forward with their own proceedings as they fee fit. Basically, Apple can kickstart its opposition for the Prepear logo at any point, if it so desires.
If nothing changes, though, pretrial will begin in March. And then, after that, main trial briefs are set to begin in October. And then, all the way in December, a potential request for an oral hearing. So, this may drag on for a long time, but hopefully both companies can come to a mutually beneficial understanding before that.
What do you think? Is Apple’s argument here a solid one, or is the company reaching?