Apple recently sued indie musician Stephanie Carlisi, who had seven monthly Spotify listeners, because of her name, saying her stage name would tarnish the company’s reputation? Lawyers for the tech giant claimed that the name “Franki Pineapple” was too close to “Apple” and would tarnish its reputation.
Carlisi told the New York Times “It’s not even an apple.” The documents filed in the lawsuit claim the names were “both the names of fruits, and thus convey a similar commercial impression.” She fought the suit and won with the concession that she state on her trademark application that “Franki Pineapple” isn’t her real name.
Source: Futurism