An Italian clothing company can be named for Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, an Italian court ruled Thursday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Italian brothers Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato on Thursday won the right to use 'Steve Jobs' for the name of their clothing company, after years of legal battles with electronics giant Apple.

The court said the Italian clothier can legally carry the name of the iconic tech executive because Apple never trademarked it.


The Barbato brothers chose the name "Steve Jobs" for their company in 2012. Apple responded with a lawsuit over the Italian company's logo -- a letter 'J' with a bite taken out of it, which is similar to the California-based organization.

The brothers said the judge ruled in their favor because their logo didn't represent something edible -- and, therefore, could not be a "bite."

The European Union Intellectual Property Office registered the name for the designers' company in 2014, and the duo only recently registered the name internationally.

The brothers already make jeans with "Steve Jobs" on the label and say they wouldn't mind expanding into the tech world, adding that the brand was "born absolutely for electronics."

Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak, left the company in 1985 to work on other ventures and returned in 1997. He died of cancer in 2011.