At least as many as the number of times I've tried to claim someone else's words and phrases as my exclusive intellectual property in order to profit, because I believe the latter is zero.
Trademarking words is common. "Apple" is one. It doesn't mean you can't use the word apple, it only means you can't name a computer company "Apple". There is still Apple Corps, Apple Bank, and tons of bakeries, cafes, donut shops, restaurants etc named things like "Apple Cafe", "Apple Donuts", "Apple Tree Diner", etc..
Or one can be like Apple, and just sort of ignore trademarks till you own them. Apple is kind of famous for taking over a significant portion of the music industry, despite a pre-existing agreement with Apple Corp never to do so. Not to mention launching the iPhone while Cisco still held the 'iPhone' trademark.
Not entirely true. Apple is very much trying to litigate even the smallest businesses showing some kind of apple, even cafės etc.