Apple has acquired the “i-phone” trademark from a company in China, apparently clearing the way for the Cupertino, Calif. company to register its iPhone as a cell phone. Hanwang Technology said it had agreed to transfer the trademark to Apple, but refused to provide details, reports said Monday.
When Apple applied to trademark the iPhone in China in 2002, it did so only under “hardware and software” because Hanwang trademarked its own “i-phone” handset under the phone category. The company, also known as Hanvon, eventually discontinued the phone.
In mid-2009, a lawyer argued Apple could not sell the iPhone, because of potential confusion. In October, China Unicom began selling the iPhone. By December, the carrier announced it has sold 100,000 iPhones. China Unicom has the second-largest number of subscribers and has to deal with the early Apple handsets sold in the country without Wi-Fi. Around 1 million “black market” iPhones have also made their way into China.
Apple refused comment on the trademark deal.
[Via iPhone Central, MacRumors, BusinessInsider]
