Bend it like Apple

Via firstmemes, consider the extent to which (1) a reference to a famous mark can be indirect and still trigger dilution law; (2) the tweets from competitors are explicitly protected by federal dilution law's exemption for comparative advertising, but the tweets from noncompetitors might not be; (3) the tweets from competitors might be dilutive under state law, but the tweets from noncompetitors might not be (Deere v. MTD and Hormel v. Jim Henson Productions) (and remember, there's no preemption because none of these folks have registered Apple or iPhone).