Chinese clothing brand says Apple ripped off its own trademark for App Store logo

A Beijing court has accepted the case

Despite all of its kowtowing to Chinese authorities of late, Apple now finds itself facing yet another copyright lawsuit in China.

A Chinese clothing company is claiming that the Silicon Valley tech giant ripped off its own trademark in creating its new Apple App Store logo. Both logos feature the letter “A” spelled out in stick design fashion and do look very similar — of course there’s only so many ways you can design an “A.”

Apple introduced the new logo earlier this year, replacing an old one of similar design, but which used a pencil, ruler, and brush instead of the stick shapes.

KON, a Beijing-based clothing label which launched in 2009, registered its trademark in 2012. The company targets young consumers and says that its logo design was inspired by none other than Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols, China’s official Xinhua news agency reports.

Arguing that customers are unable to tell the two logos apart, KON is suing Apple, demanding 100,000 yuan in compensation, along with an injunction against infringing devices, such as iPhones and iPads, as well as a public apology.

A court in Beijing has accepted the lawsuit.

Apple is no stranger to the Chinese courtroom. Last year, the company was hit with a number of rather frivolous lawsuits, including one that granted a Chinese company the right to brand its leather products with the label “IPHONE.”

Faced with slipping sales in the Chinese market and hampered by government interference, Apple appears to now be doing all that it can to get on Chinese regulators’ good side. This year, the company has removed VPN apps, Skype, and The New York Times from its China app store in response to pressure from Chinese authorities.

Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook attended China’s “World Internet Conference” in Wuzhen and said that his company shared the conference’s vision of “developing a digital economy for openness and shared benefits.”