Ongoing History Daily: Apple vs. the Beatles, Part 2

This is part two of the battle between the Beatles’ Apple Records and Stephen Jobs’ Apple Computers.  A trademark battle dating back to 1980 said that Apple Computers was supposed to stay out of the music industry.  But when Apple Computers began to be used for musical applications, Apple Records took them to court. 

After a long fight, there was a deal in 1989 with an apparent $30 million payment to the Beatles and a promise to stay out of the record business.  That was fine until 2003 when Apple Computers launched iTunes to go along with the iPod.  Apple Computers was not only in the music business but in the business of selling records–virtual ones, anyway. 

So, in early 2004, everything went back to court and dragged on for years—something that kept the Beatles out of the iTunes Music Store.  It took until 2010 for everything to get sorted out.

If you missed part one of the story, it’s here.