Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Apple Could Pay Huge Settlement to the Beatles
Posted by James Fee in "NEWS" @ 06:00 AM
"Beatles fan Steve Jobs could lose a large bite of his Apple to his idols. The Beatles' company, Apple Corps., is involved in a legal battle with Jobs' Apple Computer, claiming the hardware manufacturer is in breach of a 1991 agreement that that forbids it from using the trademark for any application "whose principle content is music." The two companies have been involved in a number of court battles over the years involving the use of the Apple trademark. Word among the legal community is that an out of court settlement could be imminent and that it will massively dwarf the $26.5 million paid to the Fab Four's company in 1991 in a row over trademark use. One lawyer told Daily Variety, "People are expecting this to be the biggest settlement anywhere in legal history, outside of a class action suit. The numbers could be mind boggling." Earlier this year, the computer company failed in a bid to have the latest case heard in the United States, when a judge in London's High Court in London granted jurisdiction in the U.K. The litigation is seen as one of the main reasons behind Apple Corps. preventing the Beatles catalog of songs being made available on the computer company's iTunes song store. Some speculation suggests the settlement could see Apple Corps. becoming a major shareholder in the computer company, with Paul McCartney maybe even becoming a board member. "
Yikes! 8O "The numbers could be mind boggling" has to make any Apple shareholder very scared. The silver lining could be that the Beatles music could be iTunes exclusive in the end. Can you imagine Paul McCartney selling iPods? 8)
Yikes! 8O "The numbers could be mind boggling" has to make any Apple shareholder very scared. The silver lining could be that the Beatles music could be iTunes exclusive in the end. Can you imagine Paul McCartney selling iPods? 8)
