LAWYERS for Apple Computer yesterday argued for its right to use the fruit logo on its iTunes music store, claiming that “even a moron in a hurry” could tell the difference between the site and the Beatles’ Apple Corps company.

Apple Corps, owned by band members and their heirs, is suing the computer group, alleging that it breached a 1991 trademark agreement by distributing music through iTunes.

The companies have been at loggerheads since the Beatles noticed in the 1980s that the computer group was stamping its products with an apple logo. They have negotiated two settlements over use of the fruit logo.

Under the second agreement, negotiated during the internet’s infancy, Apple Computer was given the right to use the apple mark in computers and data transmission. Apple Corps received exclusive rights for use of the apple image in music.

Apple Corps’ lawyers claimed on Wednesday that Apple Computer had expanded into music by introducing iTunes, and that it could comply with the settlement only by stripping the fruit mark from iTunes.

Lord Grabiner, QC, for Apple Computer, yesterday told the High Court that iTunes was just a way to transmit data over the internet. The case continues.

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