The end of the world

Remember how confused you were when you heard about the iTunes Music Store? Wait, you thought, the company that created that store is Apple Computer. Does that mean that Apple Corps Ltd., the British company that owns the rights to music by the Beatles, is the company that created iTunes? What exactly is going on here?

You were probably paralyzed by this marketplace confusion for days. Maybe you still are.

Well, a British judge has just ruined your life, by ruling that Apple Computer is allowed to distribute music via iTunes, even though the Beatles own a company called Apple Corps. Ltd. that also distributes music. Just because, "I think that the use of the apple logo is a fair and reasonable use of the mark in connection with the service, which does not go further and unfairly or unreasonably suggest an additional association with the creative works themselves."

(Explanation of snark, for those unfamiliar with trademark insanity: While the Apple case has its own particular issues based on a specific agreement between the parties, corporations have generally been going out of control in litigating trademark issues. It used to be that trademarks were protected mainly against intruders who tried to fool consumers into believing a knock-off product was coming from a certain company when it really wasn't -- an important protection. But now trademark litigation has gotten so insane that TV shows blur out trademarks on T-shirts, and documentary filmmakers can hardly point their cameras anywhere in a public space without risking a lawsuit. This fear of "trademark dilution" does absolutely nothing to protect against fraud, and only hurts our public discourse by allowing corporations veto power over what used to be free speech.)