Apple Logo Black - H 2012
Apple is suing a Russian online store for using a logo similar to its own in the tech giant’s first case of that kind in Russia.
Apple has filed lawsuits against several companies associated with the online store ?pl-msk.ru demanding that the online store be prohibited from the use of its logo, reported Russian daily Izvestia.
Apple’s Russian office did not reply to The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment.
The logo of Apl-msk.ru is an apple similar to the iconic logo that the multinational technology company etches onto all of its products.
Incidentally, the online store offers Apple products at prices lower than those at Apple’s official online store in Russia, raising suspicions that the products may not be imported through legitimate channels. For example, Apl-msk.ru offers an iPhone 6 with 16 GB of storage at $762 (38,490 rubles), compared with $970 (48,990 rubles) in Apple’s official online store.
Many smaller Russian online stores operate in the gray area, winning over buyers by offering lower prices. While official online stores don’t adjust their prices based on foreign currencies’ exchange rates very often, smaller operators have taken advantage of the ruble’s strengthening in the last few months.
In late 2014, Apple twice halted online sales of its products in Russia due to extreme fluctuations of the ruble’s exchange rate against the dollar.
