Apple is edging closer towards a settlement with Brazilian telecommunications firm IGB Eletronica over the “iPhone” trademark. IGB owns the brand Gradiente, which obtained the trademark in 2007 — the same year Apple announced its popular smartphone. The company has been keen to prevent Apple from using it, but it appears it’s now willing to reach a deal.
Apple may lose its right to use the iPhone name in Brazil, according to a report on Reuters today. The trademark has been given to Gradiente Eletronica SA, a Brazilian electronics maker who registered the name in 1998, well before Apple had an iPhone to even trademark. The decision is set to be made public on the 13th of this month.
Apple can still challenge the ruling in Brazilian courts once the announcement is made.
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has today published Apple’s latest trademark certificate, which covers the “distinctive design & layout” of its iconic retail stores. The Cupertino company originally filed for the trademark back in May 2010, nine years after the first Apple store opened its doors in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
Apple and Amazon are set to enter settlement talks over Amazon’s use of the term “Appstore,” Bloomberg reports. Apple has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the retail giant, claiming that its Android software store could be confused with its own App Store for iOS. A U.S. Magistrate Judge has now ordered the pair to enter talks and try to settle the case ahead of the trial.
Apple’s new Lightning connector is the perfect accompaniment to the Thunderbolt port, but the trademark hasn’t always been owned by the Cupertino company. In fact, it had to “partially” acquire it from motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, which uses it to cover motorcycle parts, protective helmets, and turn signals.
Almost everything Apple creates is patented and trademarked in an effort to ensure that other companies can’t steal its ideas (though they do). However, sometimes the folks in Cupertino hit a stumbling block. That’s what happened when Apple attempted to trademark its Music app icon recently, only to find that Myspace got there first.
You know we all wanted to call it the iPad 3. It would make a lot of sense, given that they named the previous model the iPad 2.
But no, Apple decided to call the latest iteration of their magical tablet device “The New iPad.” Ok, fine, Apple, have it your way.
But then they filed a case with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) saying that they should own the domain name www.ipad3.com.
What?
Proview’s legal battle against Apple over the use of the “iPad” trademark continues to drag on, but things haven’t quite gone to plan for the Chinese company. A Hong Kong court has sided with Apple and agreed that some of Proview’s evidence should be excluded from the case after it failed to comply with the court’s instructions.
Proview has long been battling with Apple over its use of the “iPad” trademark in China, but the Cupertino company has moved to put an end to the dispute by offering a settlement figure of ¥100 million (around $16 million). The problem is, that sum covers very little of Proview’s massive debt, and the company is demanding a $400 million payout instead.
Apple continues its rollout of the new iPad in nine additional countries today, making the sought-after tablet available in 57 markets worldwide. This is now the fourth phase of rollouts since the device made its debut on March 16, but one of Apple’s key territories is still without it.
Proview Technology, which is currently suing Apple for its use of the “iPad” trademark in China, revealed yesterday that it is seeking a ban on all iPad shipments into and out of China. If successful, the move could delay Apple’s iPad 3 launch with the device unable to leave the Chinese factories in which it is assembled.
However, according to Chinese customs, Proview has no chance of blocking iPad shipments because customers just love it too much.
While Apple’s trademark dispute with Proview Technology rages on, the iPad continues to feel the strain in China. Following its ban in one Chinese city, the device has now been pulled from Amazon China and the retailer has frozen all orders.
A trademark dispute currently ongoing between Apple and Proview Technology recently saw the iPad banned in one Chinese city, but things could be about to get a whole lot worse. A lawyer for Proview, which claims to own the rights of the “iPad” name in China, is seeking a ban on iPad shipments into and out of China.
Not only would that mean that Chinese customers cannot get their hands on the device, but the rest of the world would be without the iPad, too.
Known for being overly protective of its “i” brand, Apple has taken aim at another iPhone case manufacturer whose name is dangerously close to that of Apple’s most popular products. The company in question is called “driPhone,” and it produces a waterproof case for the iPhone and other mobile devices. But that could be about to change if Apple has its way.
Apple’s mission to trademark and patent pretty much everything it can like an overactive canine marking its territory continues, with a new trademark filing that reveals the Cupertino company has protected the word ‘Noteworthy’, classifying it under the category of computer software.
Microsoft, HTC, Nokia and Sony Ericsson have teamed up in Europe to send Apple a message: no one can own the term “App Store,” and they’re willing to join forces to prove it in court.
Like an iPhone for Titans: a hypothetical lozenge in ebony, aluminum and glass!
We never quite see the end of Tablet Mac rumors on the Internet, and it’s easy to get swept up in the madness of crowds over the skintiest of them. Let’s not let too much foam collect in the saucer of our collected under lips over the latest headline to hit the feeds, though: “Apple takes control of TabletMac trademark” looks pretty exciting at first blush, but it’s probably just business as usual for a large company protecting its trademark.
The development comes by way of Axiotron, that neat company that will take your MacBook and $699, rip out its display, replace it with a pen-based screen, break its spine at the coccyx and flip it around one-hundred-and-eighty-degrees to give you a Tablet Mac. In fact, they went as far as to register a trademark for TabletMac with the Trademark Office.
Sometime in the last year, though, Axiotron transferred the TabletMac trademark to Apple. It’s easy to take that trademark transfer as significant (bolded), a sign that Apple is soon to send a hoary Jobs down from Mount Silicon with a divine, multitouch tablet of its own.
In reality, though, if Apple is working on a Tablet Mac, it’s unlikely to be called any such thing. I suspect the real source of this is just standard protection of Apple’s “Mac” trademark, and the whole thing was settled as easily as an email rattled off to Axiotron: “Hey, you guys are doing cool work. Transfer the TabletMac trademark to us before we have to rearrange your face.”
[via Mac Rumors]
A Canadian tech school with an apple logo was sent a letter from Apple lawyers, claiming the school’s green and blue symbol violates Apple’s trademark.
It won’t settle the lawsuit, but they’re posting the legal letter, news reports and a poll asking people what they think.
Over 6,000 people have voted, about 75% of voters in favor of the school.
Lawyers aside, The Victoria School of Business and Technology could probably benefit from a better-looking design.
What do you think?
Via The Mac Observer
