[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

Apple’s retail store design and layout is now officially trademarked. The USPTO  has given the company its formal blessing, after rejecting its claims twice, writes Valentina Palladino in Wired.   

You can check out Apple’s USPTO filing here. And what exactly is this service mark Apple is trademarking? Here is the description:

The store features a clear glass storefront surrounded by a paneled facade consisting of large, rectangular horizontal panels over the top of the glass front, and two narrower panels stacked on either side of the storefront.

Within the store, rectangular recessed lighting units traverse the length of the store’s ceiling. There are cantilevered shelves below recessed display spaces along the side walls, and rectangular tables arranged in a line in the middle of the store parallel to the walls and extending from the storefront to the back of the store.

There is multi-tiered shelving along the side walls, and a oblong table with stools located at the back of the store, set below video screens flush mounted on the back wall.

The walls, floors, lighting, and other fixtures appear in dotted lines and are not claimed as individual features of the mark; however, the placement of the various items are considered to be part of the overall mark.

Microsoft, a company that was awarded a trademark on its own retail stores in 2011, had filed an opposition, but does not seem to have followed through.

[Image courtesy: Apple/USPTO]