Another day, another lawsuit. But this time it’s Apple doing the suing.
MacRumors reports that, in a lawsuit filed a federal court in Massachusetts on Friday, the tech giant sued a small theater chain named Apple Cinemas over alleged trademark infringement. In the complaint Apple had this to say: As part of its aggressive national expansion to 100 theaters, on or about July 10, 2025, Apple Cinemas opened in the historic movie theater location at 1000 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, California. Defendants announced the opening with a media blitz, touted its “high-tech” offerings, and teased another San Francisco Bay Area theater coming soon. Until recently, Apple Cinemas had not operated outside a few suburbs and city outskirts in New England. But now, these two San Francisco Bay Area locations are each less than 50 miles from
Apple’s flagship headquarters in Cupertino, California, and Apple Cinemas is pursuing a nationwide expansion near Apple retail store locations on both coasts.
Already, Defendants’ actions have confused customers and diluted Apple’s brand. The comment sections of articles and social media posts promoting the new Apple Cinemas
opening are full of questions from the public. For example, one user responded to the announcement of the San Francisco location, “Is this another Apple brand?”
Another wondered if the theater showed only Apple TV films—referencing. A third stated, “I certainly assumed THAT Apple was behind the new theater.”
Media coverage of the theater openings on both coasts found it necessary to explain that Apple Cinemas was not affiliated with Apple Inc.
Apple Cinemas, headquartered in Walpole, Massachusetts, and incorporated in 2010, opened its first theater in 2013 and currently operates 14 locations with 161 screens across seven states (MA, CT, RI, NH, ME, NY, CA). The company has announced that it’s opening two new locations with 20 screens: one location in Greece, New York, and one location in Danville, California. Additional sites and leases are pending.
I hope you’ll help support Apple World Today by becoming a patron. All our income is from Patreon support and sponsored posts. Patreon pricing ranges from $2 to $10.
