Apple Squeezes Apple For Juice
Since you were going to ask about it, here’s a rundown on the Apple Corps/Apple Computer lawsuit. This thing has been going on for years and I’m bored with it now, however, it’s in court today so I’ll sum it up – without resorting to puns based on Beatles song titles.
Apple Corps is the company founded by the Beatles in the late sixties to handle their side projects, a noble effort that nearly collapsed in a flurry of lawsuits as the fab four broke up. The company that remained noticed Apple Computer in the early eighties and sued for trademark infringement; they won $80,000 and and agreement that the computers would not be involved in music-related activities.
In the late eighties the record company sued again, pointing out that the computers had a prominent prescence in the recording field. They won again, with the computer company forking over $26 million. Everyone’s favorite system beep, “Sosumi,” was named as a result of this action.
The latest round comes as the iTunes music store announces a billion downloads. iTunes is arguing that the agreement they have with Apple Corps doesn’t allow them to sell recordings on physical media; and of course that’s true, they’re just downloads. And it’s also true that at this late date, most iTunes users think that the Beatles stole the idea from Steve Jobs.
I gotta admit, it takes considerable chutzpah to go into the music business in such a big way, given this agreement hanging over your head. If we could get Poverty or a Cure For Cancer to sue Apple Computer, we’d all wind up doing pretty well.
Some agreement should be hammered out here, obviously. Why not give Apple Corps 100% of their own iTunes sales? That would finally get legal Beatles downloads online, plus give a new generation a chance to watch Magical Mystery Tour on a tiny portable screen. Of course Apple Corps business model, which is apparently 25% sales and 75% litigation, may not allow for it.