InteriorDesign
Latest
EU ruling allows Apple to trademark its store layouts
Love or hate them, it's hard to argue that Apple's retail stores aren't highly distinctive. That's what the EU's highest court thought when it overruled a German verdict and said that Apple's store design could be registered as a trademark in Europe. Though Apple holds a store trademark granted last year by the USPTO, Germany's patent office rejected it, despite admitting that the retail layout was "an essential aspect of (its) business." The Court of Justice of the EU disagreed, saying that "an integral collection of lines, curves and shapes" (in Apple's stores) fulfill all the criteria for a trademark. It noted that any store design like Apple's which "departs significantly" from others in the same sector also merits trademark protection. Meanwhile, Apple may be planning changes to its stores anyway, having just hired ex-Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts as head of retail. For now, though, you're less likely to walk into a store like this in Europe.
TUAW's Daily App: Home 3D
Lest you think that all we'll be spotlighting in this space is games, here's an interesting app meant for anyone thinking about adding a couch to that living room or putting an extra bed in the back bedroom. Home 3D is an "architecture and interior design app" that allows you to model out your home in 3D, including doors and windows on a floor plan, wallpaper, and furniture, allowing you to test out your choices on your device first before tearing out a wall or repainting a room. Having all of this functionality on your iPhone or iPad is impressive (and the best home design software costs a lot more than this one -- US$3.99 for the iPhone and $4.99 for the iPad), but Home 3D does it with an impressive interface and a surprising number of features. You can use a color picker and choose from a set of pre-loaded furniture, buy more with in-app purchases, or try creating your own models or even using the iPhone's camera for textures. It's not perfect -- if you want to do serious home design, you'll probably have to go for something a little more dedicated on the desktop. But just for moving some furniture around, or maybe seeing what a room might look like with a different color of paint, Home 3D does the trick.
