Beatlesmania MK II

Feb 6, 2007, 12:10 GMT

The Beatles are set to dominate the British charts again after settling their Apple trademark dispute.

Fab Four fans were thrilled to hear iPod manufacturer Apple Inc had settled their almost 30-year battle with The Beatles' record company Apple Corps over who owned the legal rights to the Apple name.

Apple Inc will now own all trademarks relating to Apple and will license certain ones back to Apple Corps - meaning The Beatles' music, which has never been officially sold online, could soon be released via iTunes.

One music source said: "Making these songs available could spark a whole new outbreak of Beatlemania."

Apple Inc boss Steve Jobs said he was delighted to have settled the legal battle.

He added: "We love The Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks. It feels great to resolve this in a positive manner."

A recent change in how the British singles chart is compiled - which now considers downloads sales of any track ever released - means The Beatles could dominate the pop charts almost 45 years since their first release.

The change even includes album tracks, meaning classic hits such as 'Blackbird' and 'Across The Universe' could hit the top spot.

'Hey Jude', which originally topped the charts in September 1968, is the bookmakers' favourite to be the first number one single, followed by 'Yesterday'.

(C) BANG Media International