Exclusive: Apple seeks rights to iPhone trademark

[AppleInsider]

Apple Computer has filed for a trademark on the term iPhone, suggesting the company plans to use the moniker, recently popularized amongst the analyst and blogging communities, as the official name for its highly-anticipated iPod cell phone.

The filing, made last month with a Far Eastern trademark office, is the latest in a long list of incontrovertible evidence to suggest the Cupertino, Calif.-based iPod maker is in the final developmental stages of the project, which is expected to merge traditional cellular capabilities with an iPod digital music player.

In the September 15th filing, Apple describes iPhone as "handheld and mobile digital electronic devices for the sending and receiving of telephone calls, faxes, electronic mail, and other digital data; MP3 and other digital format audio players."

Under the primary but broad classification, Apple said iPhone may also consist of "electronic handheld units for the wireless receipt and/or transmission of data that enable the user to keep track of or manage personal information."

Similarly, it may include "software for the redirection of messages, Internet e-mail, and/or other data to one or more electronic handheld devices from a data store on or associated with a personal computer or a server; and software for the synchronization of data between a remote station or device and a fixed or remote station or device."

Of particular interest is a secondary classification of iPhone listed in the filing which pertains to a "stand alone video game machine," implying that the device may be compatible with the handful of arcade games recently introduced for Apple's fifth-generation video iPod players. The games are available for purchase and download from the company's iTunes Store for $4.99 a piece.

According to the filing, which remains under examination, Apple originally sought the iPhone trademark back in March, when it filed a similar request with a trademark office in a nation off the coast of South America.

Analysts and journalists have frequently use the term iPhone in reference to the company's cell phone initiative because of a December 16, 1999 domain registry by the iPod maker for iPhone.org. To this date, iPhone.org redirects to Apple's homepage at Apple.com.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who has been known to blab to cronies about his company's upcoming cell phone device, is believed to have commissioned the release of prototypes to at least two potential OEM manufacturing partners earlier this year.

People familiar with the project have told AppleInsider that Apple is designing the initial handsets to conform with its integrated model in such a way that they will leverage the company's tightly-knit digital media franchises.

Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, has also been high in his convictions that Apple will soon introduce an iPhone based on an iPod nano-like candy bar form factor. He said checks indicate the device will be available in three colors.

"Our research indicates that an Apple-designed smart phone has moved from concept to prototype and recently has progressed to near completion as a production unit," the analyst wrote in a note to Apple investors last month. "We believe this smart phone has been in development for over 12 months and has overcome substantial challenges including design, interference, battery life and other technical glitches."

Should Apple gain a 1 percent share in the billion unit worldwide cell phone market, it could generate an addition $2 billion in yearly revenue, according to Wu, who based the assumption on yearly sales of 10 million units at an average selling price of $200 per unit.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Porchland]

No hint about whether Apple will go it alone as a micro-carrier of if the phone will be distributed through one of the existing carriers? Previous rumors have gone both ways.

[bdj21ya]

Only a matter of time now. If I could be a little more certain about MWSF, I'd hold of buying a home and put all my savings in Apple stock, which will undoubtedly go above $90 the day word of the iPhone's imminence gets out.

[minderbinder]

So these days it only takes nine to make a "plethora"?

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

September 15th? So they will be granted it in 2008.. :/

[Hobbes]

Hmmm. I was hoping for something a little better than "iPhone".

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by minderbinder

So these days it only takes nine to make a "plethora"?

I was thinking the same thing.

[nagromme]

There MAY be an iPhone, but I think this about releasing random info to catch leakers.

One person gets told about a set-top game console, another gets told about a spreadsheet app, etc.--and Steve told HIMSELF about a phone. So when he heard someone had blabbed, he knew who it must be!

I expect Steve to be fired shortly. Probably with some convenient excuse like stock options.

[bdj21ya]

Originally Posted by minderbinder

So these days it only takes nine to make a "plethora"?

I agree with you that 9 games can hardly be called a plethora. However, if you had 9 piñatas, would you say you had a plethora of piñatas?

[Clive At Five]

Originally Posted by Hobbes

Hmmm. I was hoping for something a little better than "iPhone".

Agreed.

So much for PhonePod.

Maybe Apple will still adopt "TelePort" for the iTV. That's way more fun. "i" is out of date.

-Clive

[Kickaha]

I believe a group of piñatas is properly termed a 'bash'.

*rimshot*

[berkowit28]

<<Apple originally sought the iPhone trademark back in March, when it filed a similar request with a trademark office in a nation off the coast of South America. >>

How many such fully-fledged nations are there? I can think of Trinidad & Tobago (that's one nation). Any others? Why be coy about which nation this is? I can't imagine it's the Falkland Islands (a disputed colony).

[Splinemodel]

Funny: this past weekend I was just having the discussion with some friends at a backyard party that every party should involve one or more pinatas.

I'd normally put the tilde in "pinatas," but windows is shit.

[walshbj]

They should make the phone work with Google Spreadsheets and Docs instead of focusing on some desktop Office-type package.

[Chucker]

Originally Posted by walshbj

They should make the phone work with Google Spreadsheets and Docs instead of focusing on some desktop Office-type package.

What does one have to do with the other?

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Hobbes

Hmmm. I was hoping for something a little better than "iPhone".

"iPhone" fits the Apple naming strategy. MacPhone, or MacPhone Pro does not.

[walshbj]

Originally Posted by Chucker

What does one have to do with the other?

I guess what I'm hoping for is a device that is truly mobile by being designed to sync with Internet resources instead of only syncing to a Desktop PC/Mac that you don't get to very often.
If Apple and Google really are buddies that might happen.

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by minderbinder

So these days it only takes nine to make a "plethora"?

Under 9, it's a 'myriad.'

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Porchland

No hint about whether Apple will go it alone as a micro-carrier of if the phone will be distributed through one of the existing carriers? Previous rumors have gone both ways.

Some talk has now been directed towards T-mobile being a possible partner.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by bdj21ya

Only a matter of time now. If I could be a little more certain about MWSF, I'd hold of buying a home and put all my savings in Apple stock, which will undoubtedly go above $90 the day word of the iPhone's imminence gets out.

I'm not sure if you are serious...but on the off chance you are: Don't ever put all your savings into anything other than a savings bank.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by BRussell

Under 9, it's a 'myriad.'

Under "8" it's a "spate".

[Tiger]

My fave quote:
"Shaw Wu... has also been high."

[Woody56292]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

Agreed.

So much for PhonePod.

Maybe Apple will still adopt "TelePort" for the iTV. That's way more fun. "i" is out of date.

-Clive

lol that would be an awesome name for the iTV.

[monkeyastronaut]

Originally Posted by bdj21ya

I agree with you that 9 games can hardly be called a plethora. However, if you had 9 piñatas, would you say you had a plethora of piñatas?

if i had 9 piñatas that would be a hell of a good party.

with some música and tacos de carne asada and lots of frijoles and cerveza.

[monkeyastronaut]

Originally Posted by Splinemodel

Funny: this past weekend I was just having the discussion with some friends at a backyard party that every party should involve one or more pinatas.

I'd normally put the tilde in "pinatas," but windows is shit.

well, that is very true. why WOULDN'T you want a piñata at your parties?

they are colorful, fun, meant to be distroyed and can be a highly entertaining social activity. 8)

[monkeyastronaut]

after reading the article i sounds a lot like the iPhone could also be a Palm handheld of sorts. i'm hoping for some kind of text input, like stylus based or some kick ass voice recognition.

does anyone think the iphone will have the click wheel?

[bdj21ya]

Originally Posted by melgross

I'm not sure if you are serious...but on the off chance you are: Don't ever put all your savings into anything other than a savings bank.

Well, it's a moot point, because without inside info, I couldn't be certain, and with it, I'd be breaking the law. Also, when you have as small an amount of savings as I have, the potential loss would not be that great (barring some sort of terrorist attack during the brief period I was holding the stock).

[Aquatic]

I hope it has a clickwheel. I love clickwheels. That's why iPods are great. The clickwheel.

Apple hurry up. I have my Visa waiting. It'll go great with my new MacBook rev. B and my iTV. Damn I'm so excited! Yay toys!

[WhiteRabbit]

Does that really mean that Apple would definately call their phone product an iPhone, or that they simply don't want anyone else to be using the name, specifically for any phone like product.

Personally I don't think that iPhone has quite the ring that iPod and iMac do. It seems too obvious, acceptable perhaps for an add-on product, but not something you'd like people to think of as a new, "revolutionary" product.

[MacGregor]

Originally Posted by Hobbes

Hmmm. I was hoping for something a little better than "iPhone".

I like "iPhone." Why? Because it means it won't be an iPod with a phone soldered to it ... and it won't be a phone with an iPod soldered to it. I think it means that it will be a totally different, elegant form and functionality. So "PhonePod" would be going backwards. Something new, the way the iPod is.

So think about Ives and Jobs starting to think of mobile communication from the ground up and that would be an iPhone!

And it sure won't have "mac" in it since it won't run OSX.

[Aries 1B]

I don't think that iPhone will be hardware. I think that it will be one of many applications riding on Apple Hardware. Everyone's expecting dedicated phone hardware. Everyone has made dedicated phone hardware with mobile connectivity. I'm expecting that the iPhone will be software that you call up from within your laptop or desktop or Video iPod or your iTablet and connect with whom you will.


Kinda like Vonage, but Applesque. And everywhere.

V/R,

Aries 1B

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Aries 1B

I don't think that iPhone will be hardware. I think that it will be one of many applications riding on Apple Hardware. Everyone's expecting dedicated phone hardware. Everyone has made dedicated phone hardware with mobile connectivity. I'm expecting that the iPhone will be software that you call up from within your laptop or desktop or Video iPod or your iTablet and connect with whom you will.


Kinda like Vonage, but Applesque. And everywhere.

V/R,

Aries 1B

Your other idea was good, but this one isn't.

you can't have a phone without phone hardware. We aren't talking about a fixed phone. You need a transmitter/receiver at least.

[tonton]

I'd normally put the tilde in "pinatas," but windows is shit.

Tell me about it. How come they still haven't figured this out?

Of course, Spline, you could always cut and paste, which is what I do... I'm on Windows at work now... watch...

piñataspiñataspiñataspiñataspiñatas

But still not as easy as on Mac, and if you don't have something to cut & paste from, I still don't know how to do it easily on Win.

[jelockwood]

Apple may have a problem registering "iPhone" as a trademark, with just a few minutes googling I found all the following. In addition I am fairly certain I have seem images of a LinkSys device also called "iPhone". As LinkSys are a division of Cisco, they certainly have the resources to fight Apple over it if necessary.

https://iphone.nuvio.com/html/ - a VoIP provider
http://www.3-speech.com/iphone.html - a Skype handset
http://www.comwave.net/CDN/iPhone/ - a VoIP provider
http://www.mri.co.uk/products/commun...ns/iphoner.htm - a Skype handset
http://www.vida21.com/ViDa_phone_iphone.html - a SIP/H.323 VoIP handset

[Paulc]

Newbie here, so be kind(ish)..

I've been mulling this over for the last week or so before the 'iPhone' TM thing surfaced.

The biggest issue that all companies involved (Apple, M$, Nokia, Motorola, Blackberry et al) have is that the customer at the mo doesn't know what they're buying - is it a cell phone that plays music, is it a PDA that can make calls, is it an MP3 player that also shows movies, oh-and-by-the-way you can call from it....

Apple's trick here is to define the genre of whatever device they're going to release, and stay well away from the 'Phone' moniker. I did a wee 'brainstorm' on it, and came up with 'iTone' (there must be better) as a device (and name) that encompasses ring, music, sms, pictures, movies...OK, it doesn't work with address books, but you get the idea. They need to make the space their own.

I think the iPhone is a red-herring.

(Phew! Glad that's over )

[MacGregor]

Originally Posted by Paulc

Newbie here, so be kind(ish)..

I've been mulling this over for the last week or so before the 'iPhone' TM thing surfaced.

The biggest issue that all companies involved (Apple, M$, Nokia, Motorola, Blackberry et al) have is that the customer at the mo doesn't know what they're buying - is it a cell phone that plays music, is it a PDA that can make calls, is it an MP3 player that also shows movies, oh-and-by-the-way you can call from it....

Apple's trick here is to define the genre of whatever device they're going to release, and stay well away from the 'Phone' moniker. I did a wee 'brainstorm' on it, and came up with 'iTone' (there must be better) as a device (and name) that encompasses ring, music, sms, pictures, movies...OK, it doesn't work with address books, but you get the idea. They need to make the space their own.

I think the iPhone is a red-herring.

(Phew! Glad that's over )

Good points, although I don't know if Apple would bother with red-herrings per say. Many were thinking that iPhone was like iTV and just an inside-Apple nickname, but with trademarking it becomes a slightly expensive red-herring.

But your idea is good in that I do think customer confusion is the #1 problem with all new devices, and phones might give people the wrong impression. However I think if Apple came up with an iPhone, that people would think of it as a new device and look at it from a fresh perspectives. And for those who just want a cool phone, the name makes that an easier sell than iDigiTone or something of that nature. In the end the cellphone market is bigger than all the others, so why not leverage that in the name?

[solsun]

Originally Posted by jelockwood

Apple may have a problem registering "iPhone" as a trademark, with just a few minutes googling I found all the following. In addition I am fairly certain I have seem images of a LinkSys device also called "iPhone". As LinkSys are a division of Cisco, they certainly have the resources to fight Apple over it if necessary.

https://iphone.nuvio.com/html/ - a VoIP provider
http://www.3-speech.com/iphone.html - a Skype handset
http://www.comwave.net/CDN/iPhone/ - a VoIP provider
http://www.mri.co.uk/products/commun...ns/iphoner.htm - a Skype handset
http://www.vida21.com/ViDa_phone_iphone.html - a SIP/H.323 VoIP handset

Not sure if it means anything, but Apple have owned the domain www.iphone.org for several years now..

[sjk]

Originally Posted by MacGregor

But your idea is good in that I do think customer confusion is the #1 problem with all new devices, and phones might give people the wrong impression.

Reminds me of that commercial for some new phone product (gee, I already forgot its name) where they're pissed-off when people call it a phone.

However I think if Apple came up with an iPhone, that people would think of it as a new device and look at it from a fresh perspectives.

If it were unique enough, e.g. like onyx appears to be.

[Aries 1B]

Originally Posted by melgross

Your other idea was good, but this one isn't.

you can't have a phone without phone hardware. We aren't talking about a fixed phone. You need a transmitter/receiver at least.

You're right, of course. You do need a transmitter/receiver [chip?] at least. Upon further reflection, an antenna might come in handy too .

My thinking was/is that Apple would upset the WindowsCart if, instead of introducing a device whose primary function is that of a phone, it introduced devices that included embedded phone functionality.

I think that we are on the verge of something Applesque that will be truly revolutionary; greater than all that has come before.

My apologies to you and the AI community. You, Melgross, were absolutely correct. The fault was mine. I should have been clearer in my post.

Caffeine free since May 16, 2006.

V/R,

Aries 1B

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by jelockwood

Apple may have a problem registering "iPhone" as a trademark, with just a few minutes googling I found all the following. In addition I am fairly certain I have seem images of a LinkSys device also called "iPhone". As LinkSys are a division of Cisco, they certainly have the resources to fight Apple over it if necessary.

https://iphone.nuvio.com/html/ - a VoIP provider
http://www.3-speech.com/iphone.html - a Skype handset
http://www.comwave.net/CDN/iPhone/ - a VoIP provider
http://www.mri.co.uk/products/commun...ns/iphoner.htm - a Skype handset
http://www.vida21.com/ViDa_phone_iphone.html - a SIP/H.323 VoIP handset

This is all true, but they may have already planned for some kind of settlements with these companies, or had secret licensing agreements.