For Apple Computers
The 1991 agreement states that Apple Computers may use its name and logo for any device that can "reproduce, run, play or otherwise deliver such [musical] content provided it shall not use or authorise others to use the Apple Computer Marks on or in connection with physical media delivering pre-recorded content." If "physical" is defined as compact discs or other systems of delivering pre-recorded music that can be held, Apple Computers is not liable, since what is actually being transmitted is data.For Apple Corps
The 1991 agreement states that Apple Corps owns the rights to the Apple name for "any current or future creative works whose principal ontent is music and/or musical performances; regardless of the means by which those works are recorded, or communicated, whether tangible or intangible." It prohibits Apple Computers from using its name to sell any musical content, not just Apple artists. If the aforementioned definition of "physical" refers to any system that delivers music, then Apple Computers is liable, since it sells the song itself online, not just the device to play it on.Resolution
February 5, 2007: After last May's ruling, effectively ending Apple Corps' claim to the Apple name, the Beatles' company and Apple Computers have come to an agreement wherein the band will be able to sell music online using the Apple name by paying the computer giant an undisclosed sum to license the brand. In this agreement, each side will pay its legal costs for the squabble, and Apple Corps will bring no further litigation. This also clears the way for Beatles music to be made available for download on Apple Computers' online iTunes service -- and testimony at the trial revealed that the band was preparing its back catalog for just such an eventuality. In a statement, Steve Jobs declared that "We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks... we wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful cooperation with them." May 9, 2006: The ruling is issued by Justice Edward Mann: "I find no breach of the trademark agreement has been demonstrated... the action therefore fails." This means that the Beatles have no claim against Apple Computer's trademark as it pertains to Apple's iTunes software and online service. Apple Corps was also ordered to pay Apple Computer's legal expenses to the tune of over $3.5 million.Apple Corps lawyer Geoffrey Voz vowed that the band's company will appeal, and blasted the ruling as a "perversion" of the original 1991 agreement, stating that Apple Computer Steve Jobs has himself likened iTunes to purchasing an album in a store. Jobs' official post-trial statement sought to mend fences, saying "we are glad to put this disagreement behind us. We have always loved the Beatles, and hopefully we can now work together to get them on the iTunes Music Store." Indeed, many see the trial merely as a publicity stunt orchestrated by the Corps to coincide with the Beatles' impending (and long-overdue) arrival in the download market.
In any event, Jobs' vision is apparently not that of the Beatles. "With great respect to the trial judge, we consider that he has reached the wrong conclusion," said Apple Corps' Neil Aspinall. "We felt that during the course of the trial we clearly demonstrated just how extensively Apple Computer had broken the agreement, and we will accordingly be filing an appeal and putting the case again to the Court of Appeal."
