Apple sues Apple Cinemas theater chain for trademark infringement

Apple has filed a lawsuit against the owner of Apple Cinemas for trademark infringement, claiming that the Walpole, Massachusetts-based theater chain’s “aggressive nationwide expansion” will cause market confusion and weaken the tech giant’s brand identity.
Blake Brittain for Reuters:
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The lawsuit, filed on Friday in federal court in Boston, said the chain opened a new theater in San Francisco last month, less than an hour’s drive from Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. Apple Cinemas has operated in New England since 2013, according to the complaint.
Apple Cinemas plans to open 100 more theaters over the next decade and become “one of the largest theater chains in North America,” the lawsuit said.
Apple said that the chain has also used the tech giant’s name to “enter favorable agreements with landlords.” The lawsuit said that Apple Stores often function as “anchor tenants” for malls and that Apple Cinemas are “positioning themselves in malls where there currently are no Apple Store locations as an alternate anchor tenant with the same confusing name and cache.”
Apple said the chain was already confusing consumers, citing several social media posts asking if its theaters were affiliated with Apple.
The complaint said that the theater chain is continuing with its plans despite cease-and-desist letters from Apple and a refusal by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register its trademarks.

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MacDailyNews Take: Apple is rightfully asking the court for an order blocking the chain from using the Apple name and for an unspecified amount of monetary damages.
The case is Apple Inc v. Sand Media Corp, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No. 1:25-cv-12173.

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