A Mac-centric electronic greeting card site, MacCards, was forced by Apple to shut down earlier this year. This came on the heels of Apple launching iTools, which includes an e-card service. Although the MacCards site was Mac friendly, they were forced to close. An attempt by MacCards creator Simon Jones to launch a new greeting card site was recently met with legal opposition from Apple. According to Mr. Jones:
Simon Jones, creator of the pro Apple eCards site, MacCards, which was forced to close earlier this year after legal intervention from Apple, has had plans to relaunch the site snubbed once more by Apple legal.
"I was working on bringing the site back to life using humorous cartoon illustrations, however Apple raised an objection to the proposed new logo which was a heart with a bite out of the side of it. Apple claimed this was once again a trademark infringement." Said the Jones speaking from his studio in England.
Jones had requested [through lawyers] that he speak directly with Apple about the proposed relaunch of the site, however the request was refused by Apple on Monday 10th (July). Currently the company use a law firm in the U.S who have to use a law firm in the U.K to speak with Jones’s lawyers.
"I made it clear to Apple that I didn’t want to infringe any trademarks and simply wanted to bring the popular pro Mac site back in a way we could all get along with. They were not prepared under any circumstance to speak with me, which I have to say disappoints me given the fact that I only wanted to have a dialog open with the company so as to avoid any future adverse publicity that may be caused by their lawyers wading into the situation."
Speaking about his decision to revive the site Jones went on to say "Initially I had no intention of bring MacCards back, but through time and the sheer volume of requests that I do so, I decided it was safe to go back in the water, within days of the first report that the site was returning, I was proved wrong."
Whether or not the site does make a comeback or not is now in question after Jones expressed concern over the legal costs incurred every time Apple make an objection.
You can find what’s left of the MacCards web site.
The Mac Observer Spin:
It is a shame to see that a site, clearly in support of Apple and the Mac OS, can not coexist with Apple’s own iTools. This is a clear case of Big Business, and we sometimes forget that Apple is in the business to make money, and must protect their own interests.