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May 13 2008 12:00am EDT

Apple Trademarks the Rectangular Box

Apple TrademarkApple has been granted a trademark for the shape of the iPod, essentially giving it exclusive rights to make a box with a screen and a wheel:


[T]he design of a portable and handheld digital electronic media device comprised of a rectangular casing displaying circular and rectangular shapes therein arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner. [emphasis added]
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Who decides that last point, we have no idea, but this will mean that Apple is likely to become much more aggressive in going after the knock-off iPod designs out there.

One advantage of a trademark over a patent is that it doesn't expire. However, to keep a trademark, you need to defend it, which means lots of nasty letters to manufacturers. Otherwise, the shape of the iPod could end up like the name "Hoover," which has become a generic word for vacuum cleaner in England.

Ridiculous? Perhaps. But if McDonald's can register "I'm going to McDonald's" and T-Mobile can lay claim to the color pink, then a pretty arrangement of shapes seems almost sensible.


Shape of Things to Come [Wall Street Journal]

by Charlie Sorrel for Wired.com


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