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iPod Add-on Has Apple All Worked Up

Thursday, May 24th, 2007 at 10:40 AM - by

Even though women all over the U.K. seem happy with a special iPod "attachment," Apple's legal team is hot under the collar. Representatives from the iPod maker have been demanding that stores selling the iGasm, a personal pleasure attachment for the iPod, take down posters advertising the product, according to News of the World.

It's the posters, and not so much the device, that has Apple's legal team hot and bothered. The posters resemble Apple's famous silhouette ads, but in this case the iPod is plugged into more than just the listener's ears.


The iGasm from Ann Summers

A letter from Apple to the adult shop chain Ann Summers stated "We hope this request to remove [the posters] immediately will prevent us having to consider further action."

So far, the chain plans to carry on with business as usual and keep the signs up. Jacqueline Gold, the woman behind the Ann Summers stores, commented "Perhaps I can send them an iGasm to put a smile back on their faces!"

For now, it appears the only thing that will put a smile back on Apple's legal team faces will be the removal of the posters - a move that will likely leave Ms. Gold with a frown.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu May 24, 2007 11:33 am

Weird. . .

the they should see: Softparis.com TV commercial:

http://adsoftheworld.net/videos/sexy_vibes_400x300.mov

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu May 24, 2007 1:22 pm

thats really wierd, funny though. Apple should sue. The pics look just like apple's advertisements

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu May 24, 2007 9:01 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Meh. Turnabout is fair play:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/05/11/04/lugz_sends_apple_cease_and_desist_over_eminem_spot.html

That is three years old. Apple ignored it and Lugz couldn't take it any further. At the time, it was a real stretch, as it was primarily based upon the colors. Apple had used the silhouette ads well before then. In any case, there was no copyright infringement. It was roughly like the Fox News suit against Al Franken for using "A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" in a book title.

The iGasm poster and SoftParis ad are much closer to iPod ads and, worse, the SoftParis ad clearly shows an iPod.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri May 25, 2007 12:43 pm

I don't see the ipod the iGasm ad. The item in her hand is actually much more rounded than an iPod. Regardless, even if there are multiple ads and some have a photo of the iPod, showing another product in your commercial, even a direct competitor is not illegal. The case against Ann Summers is the same logic behind the Lugz case. Similar color scheme with a silhouette. The Lugz ad was actually from 5 years ago (2002) which was long before Apple's iPod silhouettes came out, and had the added similiarity of similar soundtracks.

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