Court of Appeals upholds decision that Apple can’t trademark ‘Apple Music’

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) today denied Apple’s request that the court rehear a decision that effectively canceled the tech company’s application to register the trademark “Apple Music,” reports IPWatchdog.

Apple had asked the court to rehear the case in order to direct the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) to narrow the services listed in the trademark application so that it could proceed to registration.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected Apple’s argument that it had priority over trumpeter Charlie Bertini’s “Apple Jazz” trademark rights based on its ownership of an earlier trademark from the Beatles’ music label Apple Corps Ltd.

The court allowed Bertini to block Apple’s bid for a federal Apple Music trademark covering live performances, one of several trademark uses Apple sought to secure.

AppleJazz Records began as a way for Bertini — a trumpet player, recording artists, and teacher — to promote the recordings of his “AppleJazz Band”, a festival band that began in 1984 and performed once a year at the AppleJazz Festival in Preble, New York. Unable to sell this material to a major label, Charlie started his ownand manufactured CDs to be sold at The AppleJazz Festival and other similar music festivals across the U.S.

If you’d like to help support AWT (and help us reach our goal of eliminating ads),  consider becoming a patron. We offer at least three patron-exclusive posts each week. You can start at only $2 per month (though $5/month gets you the exclusives).