Following the filing of a French trademark The Beatles, an opposition had been filed by Apple Corps, owner of the Beatles trademark whose notoriety was claimed.
However, the French Trademark Office and the Paris Court of Appeal did not accept the similarity of all the products or the reputation of the earlier trademark.
In fact, in a rather thorough analysis, the Court of Appeal held that while the Beatles group is undeniably well-known, the Beatles trademark is not well-known beyond certain products such as sound records. Similar decisions have already been rendered, for example, concerning the name of Cristiano Ronaldo.
