Apple is suing Sand Media, the owner of theater chain Apple Cinemas, over a trademark violation, Reuters reports.
Apple Cinemas is based in Walpole, Massachusetts, but last month, it opened a new theater less than 50 miles from Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. It also teased another location in the Bay Area and announced plans to expand to 100 theaters.
This prompted some social media users to wonder if Apple was branching out into theaters, the company says in the lawsuit.
Additionally, Apple accuses Apple Cinemas of “trading off its goodwill” by using the name to position itself as an anchor tenant at malls where there are no Apple Stores. “This is significant,” Apple says, since “reports have found that the presence of an Apple Store can increase total sales at a mall by 10% and allow landlords to charge higher rents.”
Apple also alleges that the updated Apple Cinemas logo imitates its own, all of which has “confused customers and diluted Apple’s brand,” the lawsuit states.
Concerns around the Apple Cinemas brand aren’t new. In 2024, when Sand Media tried to register Apple Cinemas and ACX: Apple Cinematic Experience, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected their applications.
After that, Apple sent Sand Media a cease-and-desist letter, warning that the name Apple Cinemas could cause customers to think the two brands are affiliated. Despite this, Sand Media “refused to resolve the matter amicably or adjust their plans,” Apple says.
Apple “cannot stand by while a company knowingly trades off its trademarks in a manner that harms consumers. Consumers should not go to an ‘Apple Cinemas’ theater thinking it is connected to the famous Apple brand,” the lawsuit adds.
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The lawsuit has been filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and Apple has requested that the court block Apple Cinemas from using the name. It has also sought monetary relief for damages caused and disgorgement of Apple Cinemas’ profits.
Apple also notes that it has been in the entertainment business long before Apple Cinemas, starting with the launch of the QuickTime Movie Trailers channel in 1999. It allowed users to view movie trailers from a wide range of studios. Moreover, by the time Apple Cinemas opened its first theater in 2013, Apple had been delivering over 350,000 movies daily through its Apple TV service, which started in 2007.
It also produces Apple Originals for its Apple TV+ streaming service, some of which have had theatrical runs, like Killers of the Flower Moon and F1. CODA also won the Best Picture Oscar in 2022.
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About Jibin Joseph
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