Apple Records Sues Apple Computer for Making Music
The music of the ‘80s is striking a sour note with the leading rock stars of the ‘60s.
Apple Records, the recording company created more than two decades ago by and for the Beatles--yes, John, Paul, George and Ringo--is suing Apple Computer, the darling of the Silicon Valley.
The suit, filed Tuesday in London on behalf of the interests of the Beatles, claims that the music-making capabilities of Apple Computer’s machines violate a 1981 agreement between the two Apples outlining when each of the companies could use the Apple name and trademark.
That agreement gave Apple Computer the computer world and the right to the symbol of a multicolored apple with a bite taken out of it; Apple Records got the music world and what became its distinctive logos: a shot of an exterior of a green apple and the inside of an apple sliced in half.
But, technology being what it is, the once easily understood distinction has become blurred. Apple Computer’s latest, top-of-the-line Apple II and Macintosh personal computers come equipped with circuitry that allows them to play and synthesize music.
And remarkably well, according to many users. Pop star Stevie Wonder is said to prefer composing on his Macintosh; students at universities around the country are learning music composition and theory by using a Macintosh.
“It’s a clear violation of the agreement,” said Wayne Cooper, an attorney for the recording company, which is still equally owned by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and the estate of the late John Lennon. “If the computer company wants to sell machines that make music, they will have to become banana or peach, or something.”
Cooper estimated that past-due royalties could amount to $50 million to $200 million.
A spokesman for Apple Computer declined to comment on the suit or the long-simmering dispute.
The suit seeks a court order requiring the computer company to withdraw all products violating the 1981 agreement and pay past-due royalties--plus 15% interest--on all sales of music-making computers. Dataquest, a computer market research firm in San Jose, estimates that Apple Computer has sold about 1 million computers with music-making capabilities.
Dataquest analyst William Lempesis said the suit “seems kind of far-fetched. Music is not the primary function of the Apple computer.”
Other analysts noted that the music company may be moving to protect its position before its claim to the trademark is lost because of the lack of enforcement of its original contractual rights.
Apple Computer introduced a computer with music-making technology in January, 1984, when it came out with the original Macintosh. The computer contained chips that allowed it to convert electronic impulses into sound. Later improvements to both the Macintosh and the Apple II product lines vastly improved the computers’ abilities to produce music.
Among the improvements are specialized sound chips, software programs and what is known as the Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, a device allowing users of the Apple computer to synthesize music and simulate the sound of up to 15 instruments. In addition, Apple computers can play music stored on both compact discs and floppy disks, either through its own sound system or any speakers connected to the computer.
The result, claims Cooper, is that the interests of the Beatles have been harmed. “They haven’t gotten the royalties they should have,” he said. “This is no frivolous matter.”
