Can you tell the difference between an apple and a pear? Apple doesn’t think so, at least not the way the pear looks on a corporate logo used by Prepear. The latter is an app used to prepare meals and make grocery lists and can be
found in the App Store and
the Google Play Store. Prepear was spun-off from Super Healthy Kids, a website that helps parents create healthy meals for kids.
Apple sues small food company over its pear logo
A recent post on the Super Healthy Kids/Prepear Instagram’ account from founder Natalie Monson (via
iPhone in Canada) says, “The trillion dollar Apple, has decided to oppose and go after our small business’ trademark saying our pear logo is too close to their Apple logo and supposedly hurts their brand.” The big problem for Prepear is that fighting Apple in court is going to cost the small firm a ton of money. Again, from the Super Healthy Kids’ Instagram page, the company founder states, “This is a big blow to us at Prepear. To fight this it will cost tens of thousands of dollars. The CRAZY thing is that Apple has done this to dozens of other small business fruit logo companies, and many have chosen to abandon their logo or close doors. While the rest of the world is going out of their way to help small businesses during this pandemic,
Apple has chosen to go after our small business.
I’m not trying to get anyone to stop using or buying Apple products. I feel a moral obligation to take a stand against Apple’s aggressive legal action against small businesses and fight for the right to keep our logo. We are defending ourselves against Apple not only to keep our logo, but to send a message to big tech companies that bullying small businesses has consequences.”
Prepear can be installed from the App Store or Google Play Store
So Prepear has created a petition on the Change.org site. Posted by Russell Monson, the Co-founder and COO of Super Healthy Kids/Prepear, the petition reveals that the company has already had to lay off one employee because of what it calls Apple’s “frivolous litigation.” Prepear is a small company anyway with only five team members and notes that “It is a very terrifying experience to be legally attacked by one of the largest companies in the world, even when we have clearly done nothing wrong, and we understand why most companies just give in and change their logos. We feel a moral obligation to take a stand against Apple’s aggressive legal action against small businesses and fight for the right to keep our logo. We are defending ourselves against Apple not only to keep our logo, but to send a message to big tech companies that bullying small businesses has consequences.”
Thus far, nearly 34,000 people have signed the petition with a goal of 35,000. You can
sign the petition by clicking on this link. The reasons given by those signing the petition include, “It looks nothing like an apple. Apple Inc you don’t own the fruit images of the world. Be leaders not bullies please.” Another person affixing her signature to the petition stated, “I would need to be legally blind, and have severe brain damage before I could confuse the two logos. Apple are (sic) over-reaching with this one.” The majority of those who commented on the petition say that the two logos do not look alike and one would have to have some type of brain problem to confuse them. One other comment on the Change.org site says, “This is ridiculous! As a consumer I wouldn’t think twice about that pear looking like Apple’s logo! They look nothing alike! This is crazy! This small company should be allowed to keep their (sic) pear logo!!! If they can’t keep it, this will be another sad thing lost to 2020! Please let them keep their logo and their company!
Can you tell the difference between an apple and a pear, or do you believe that Apple has a valid argument?
