Apple has recently gained a new registered trademark for the “Distinctive Design & Layout” of its 400 stores worldwide. Originally filing for the trademark in May of 2010, Apple was finally granted the trademarks on Tuesday the 24^th of January.

The trademark consists of two similar designs, one being in color, the other black and white. Both represent the typical Apple store layout we all know, which consists of wide tables in the middle of the store, and benches and shelves around the sides where customers can test out the latest products for sale.

While Apple’s first retail store made its debut in 2001 in Virginia, the now trademarked Apple store design was first introduced a few years later in Pasadena, California.

As Steve Jobs once said:

Unless we could find a way to get our message to customers at the store, we were screwed.

Apple’s Trademark