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Swiss court upholds Apple Inc. trademark appeal

apple inc. logo could now be trademarked in Switzerland
The Apple logo could now be trademarked in Switzerland. Keystone / Christian Charisius

Federal Administrative Court has ruled that the image of an apple can be recognised as a registered trademark in Switzerland. This trademark protection encompasses sound, video and film recordings.

Following an appeal made by the US-based company, Apple Inc., on Thursday the court published its decision, which overturned a judgement made by the Swiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property (IPI).

The previous judgement by the IPI said that the image of an apple was a public good and could not be protected as a trademark. The IPI argued that the image of a natural apple would not be recognised as a reference to the US-based company, as was conversely the case in the trademark proceedings for the brand name “Apple”, due to the company’s global reputation.

The trademark registration does not say for which subject the respective recordings are used.

The decision is not yet final and can be appealed at the Federal Court.

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