苹果公司与甲壳虫的苹果唱片公司达成新协议

Apple, Beatles Come Together 

Apparently, they can work it out.

Ending more than two decades of legal wrangling—and potentially opening up iTunes to the crown jewel of music catalogs—the iPod-hawking Apple Inc. and the Beatles' similarly monikered company, Apple Corps, have settled their differences.

The deal, announced Monday, averts a court showdown scheduled for later this month in London. A judge had been scheduled to hear Apple Corps' appeal of a May decision in its latest trademark-infringement suit, in which London's High Court ruled that the computer and gadget maker did not violate the terms of a 1991 agreement by using its fruity logo on iPods and iTunes.

"We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks," Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "It feels good to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future."

While financial terms were not disclosed, the new deal give Apple Inc. ownership of all of the trademarks concerning "Apple," including the logo for iTunes. In return, the computer maker agreed to license certain trademarks—the ones pertaining to specific music—back to Apple Corps. Both sides also agreed to end litigation and pay their own legal costs.

"It is great to put this dispute behind us and move on. The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us," said Apple Corps manager Neil Aspinall. "We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful cooperation with them."

Apple Corps was launched in 1968 by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to oversee the Fab Four's business interests. It featured a photorealistic green apple as its logo.

Jobs, who cofounded what was then known as Apple Computers in 1977, has previously acknowledged choosing the company name and graphical logo (which, unlike Apple Corps, has a bite missing) in tribute to the Beatles, his favorite band.

His reward: a trademark-infringement lawsuit from the Beatles in 1978. Apple Computers settled that suit in 1981 for $80,000 and a promise to never enter the music business. Apple Corps sued again a decade later over music capabilities in Apple's computers.

In 1991, the companies struck a $26 million settlement to resolve the second dispute. That deal again permitted Apple Corps to control use of the name and image in the musical domain while Apple Inc. was given free reign over its computer endeavors.

When the iPod became a pop-cultural phenomenon and the iTunes store grew into the biggest online music purveyor, Aspinall headed back to court for a third time on behalf of the surviving band members McCartney and Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison to claim that Jobs' company broke the 1991 deal. The judge, a self-proclaimed iPod owner, disagreed and Apple Corps appealed.

A deal seemed imminent for several weeks. In January, when trumpeting the new iPhone, Jobs proclaimed the company was changing its name to Apple Inc. and expanding its business to include more high-tech gizmos in addition to Macintosh computers.

Aspinall, meanwhile, confirmed months ago that the Beatles were in the process of remastering their entire catalog for online sales. Industry analysts and fans alike point to the just-announced deal as a precursor for the band's iconic songs and albums to finally be sold via iTunes. Some rumor sites have gone so far to predict Jobs unveiling a Beatles-themed iPod.

Now, that could be peachy for both Apples.

美国苹果公司和英国苹果公司旷日持久的侵权官司终于走到了尽头，这场官司从上世纪80年代苹果电脑推出时就已经开始。

英国苹果公司（Apple Corp.）是一家唱片公司，旗下拥有全球著名“披头士”乐队的音乐版权。他们在1980，1989和2003年3次状告美国苹果公司（Apple Inc.）侵权，最后一次官司指控美国苹果违反1991年两家公司的协议，经营iTunes音乐商店，并侵权使用苹果Logo。

两家公司今天最终达成了协议，该协议将代替1991年的版本。协议规定美国苹果公司将拥有苹果商标，并将其授权给英国苹果。美国苹果公司将继续运营iTunes音乐商店，并使用苹果Logo。乔布斯称，大家都爱披头士，和他们打官司是一件非常痛苦的事情。现在能够以这样一种积极的方式解决问题感觉真是太棒了。

下面的事情，就是Beatles的歌曲何时会登上iTunes商店了。不过既然两家公司已经“Let it be”，这样的期望应当等不了很久了。

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