Apple has secured a U.S. patent on the glass cube design atop its subterranean Fifth Avenue store in Midtown Manhattan.
The tech giant initially applied for a trademark on the design in front of the GM Building at 767 Fifth Avenue back in 2010, and a decision on that application is still pending. Apple received a European trademark on key design elements of its retail stores within the EU last month, and a cylindrical glass topper for the company’s Shanghai store received a patent in 2012, 9to5mac reported.
The Fifth Avenue cube, which the store slimmed down in 2011 by cutting the number of glass panels from 90 to 15 as part of a $6.7 million overhaul of the store, suffered a number of cracks during Winter Storm Janus in early 2014.
The store is located at one of the city’s most high-profile commercial properties, which is owned by a partnership between Boston Properties and the families of Chinese magnate Zhang Xin and Brazilian banking titan Moise Safra. The Safra and Zhang families picked up a 40 percent stake in the building for $1.4 billion in June of last year, making the office building the country’s most valuable. [9to5mac] — Julie Strickland