Apple Inc. and The Beatles' Apple Corps announced Monday that the two parties have settled their trademark dispute over the name "Apple." In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Apple Inc. will now own all of the trademarks relating to the name "Apple," and will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps.

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

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

Apple Corps had sued Apple Inc. (then named Apple Computer) in 2003 after the launch of iTunes. The Beatles' company claimed at the time that using the name Apple to sell music through iTunes violated a 1991 trademark agreement prohibiting Apple from selling music. When iTunes was launched, it was first available at www.apple.com/music, a URL that redirected to www.apple.com/itunes after a few days.

The Beatles had originally sought to stop Apple from using of the name "Apple" at the iTunes Store, but a UK judge ruled in May of 2006 that the name was being used appropriately as a moniker to identify the iTunes Music Store (iTMS), and not in association with the music the store sells. The Judge agreed with Apple Inc. that the logo was used on iTunes as part of a data transmission service, which is allowed by the 1991 agreement.

Today's announcement concerns the broader trademark dispute that had continued after the judge's ruling cleared the way for Apple's iTunes. According to Apple's announcement, the two sides will pay their own legal fees, and there was no public mention of the other terms of the agreement (i.e. whether or how much Apple Inc. is paying Apple Corps for this particular agreement).

Also not mentioned was whether or when The Beatles catalog of music might appear at iTunes.

All you need is love, after all, and perhaps a few attorneys.