It’s just an apple, but it has had some legendary rockers fighting a legendary computer company for over fifteen years. When the surviving members of The Beatles created their Apple Corps record label in the late 1960s, I doubt that they ever thought they would be battling in court over the rights to the name and image some forty years later. It’s Paul, Ringo and the survivors of George and John verses Apple Computer and iTunes.
In 1991 the two adversaries came to an agreement which they thought would keep one Apple trademark associated with computers and the other with music. The latest lawsuit was launched by the surviving Beatles and their Apple because they felt that agreement had been breached by the use of their name and logo in association with the iTunes music download service by the other Apple. The bad news for the boys from Liverpool is that a British Judge sided with Apple Computer stating that the U.S. Company used their trademark in a way that didn’t connect it directly to the music and intellectual property on iTunes.
The news may not all be bad. According to more than a few sources, the music of The Beatles may finally end up on iTunes as a result of a rumored settlement of the trademark lawsuit. That should put more than just a few apple seeds in the pockets of the remaining Beatles and the survivors of those who have passed. However, what ends up on iTunes may not exactly be what we’re used to hearing from the Fab Four. According to music industry mutterings, Beatles tracks are being re-mastered for release on iTunes. This could mean a significant change in the way the music sounds to Beatles purists and a generation of Baby Boomers who heard it over and over again on the radio.
Will ‘Yesterday’ sound a bit too much like today? Will ‘Sergeant Pepper’ be promoted to a Lieutenant? Will ‘Penny Lane’ become Dollar Drive? Will ‘Back in the USSR’ become A Return to the Russian Federation? Money can’t buy you love, but it may allow you to download the music of The Beatles online very soon. If the rumors are true, those treasured tracks may be available on iTunes as soon as April.
Author: Bill Knell
Author’s Email: billknell@cox.net
Author’s Website: http://www.billknell.com
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