(February 2013) Apple Computer has been awarded a registered trademark for the „design and layout” of its retail stores. One of the aspects of the arrangement of those shops run by the company itself is the use of Italian sandstone Pietra Serena on the floor though this was not especially mentioned by the US Patent & Trademark Office. The producer of that stone is Il Casone company located in Firenzuola outside Florence.
Apple Stores can be found worldwide in the big cities. Typical for the design is, according to the Patent Office, the front in glass as entrance, the shelves along the sides and the oblong table set below video screens at the rear of the shop. Steve Jobs, the legendary founder of Apple, is said to have paid much attention to the shop-branding in order to create the corporate identity of the company.
The Patent Office also points out the coaction of the design of the walls, of the floors and of the lighting at the ceiling: „They appear in dotted lines and are not claimed as individual features of the mark; however, the placement of the various items is considered to be part of the overall mark.“
An Apple Store webpage gives detailed information about the stone and Il Casone.
(translation: pebe)
