Apple files lawsuit over comedy film 'Apple Man' naming

Independent film director Vasyl Moskalenko is currently filming the comedy film "Apple-Man", but Apple is unhappy with the name of the film and strongly opposes Moskalenko's application to register the "Apple-Man" trademark.

Movie trailer:

In 2020, Moskalenko launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for "Appleman" and raised 101,717 euros. The film is an action comedy film that tells the story of a half-man, half-apple superhero fighting against evil forces. The film is currently in post-production, but Apple has objected to the name "Appleman".

Moskalenko said Apple opposed the "Apple-Man" trademark and initiated a review process, sending him a 467-page document full of lawyer jargon. Moskalenko said: "My film has nothing to do with Apple. I never mentioned any words related to MacBook, iPhone or iPad, not a single word."

Moskalenko also said that his movie is about the "fruit" apple, and Apple is worried that consumers will think "Apple Man" is related to or endorsed by Apple. He has great respect for Apple and his movie has nothing to do with the iPhone, MacBook or other Apple products.

"Dear Apple, I understand that you want to protect your products and business from negative influence in any way. But I have no intention of damaging your brand with my film. My work does not have any negative associations or connotations. And I am happy to forward you the final cut of the film for you to judge for yourself. I am not planning to make phones, computers, software, anything that could conflict with your brand. I just want to make a comedy movie about a superhero with super powers, related to everyone's favorite fruit," Moskalenko said.

Moskalenko said he was open to any negotiations and hoped to reach an agreement with Apple, but he was worried that he would be forced to spend his Kickstarter crowdfunding on litigation. If his trademark registration was rejected, Apple might ask for the release of the film to be removed. He angrily said it would look like trademark bullying.

Last year, Apple opposed Prepear's trademark because its pear-shaped logo looked like the Apple logo. Prepear reached a settlement with Apple after making a minor adjustment to the pear's leaves.