The Big Apple Owes Mac It's Claim To Fame?

[Photo via Gothamist]

In case you didn't catch the news yesterday, Apple is now embroiled in a logo war with…New York City?? As the city adopts a new "going green" logo, a figure-8-like apple with a stem and leaf, Apple claims this is trademark infringement—since their logo is an apple with a bite out of it and a spiky leaf. Apple alleges that if NYC adopts the new logo, it will "seriously injure the reputation which [Apple] has established for its goods and services." Because, you know. There may be 10 people left on the planet that haven't seen an iPod and might get confused by too many apple pictures when they come to the city!

The next step is to "survey" reaction to the new logo and see if it does confuse consumers, and the back-and-forth claims could go on for months…or longer. Perhaps we can help our city out by assessing the two logos above—and I don't mean to be snarky here (okay, maybe I do) but what person over the age of four can't tell these two logos apart!!! Come on, Apple! You picked one of the most common fruits to brand your company with! I'm willing to bet, though it's not New York's "official" nickname, that "The Big Apple" has been around longer than Mac computers. (I'm too lazy to look this up and am therefore making unjustified claims, but it sounds right anyway.) What will they bitch about next? "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"? This might be confusing to people that aren't health experts—do they mean the fruit or the computer? Eve getting kicked out of Eden for biting into the apple in the Old Testament? It might drive church-goers away from your brand! Sorry, Apple. You may have a cute logo, but you don't own rights to the fruit.