I'm fairly certain it's just "IHOP," for Internation House of Pancakes haha (Speaking of which, there's a road called Cox in my town. There's an IHOP (one of two in my town) located on it. For those with an immature sense of humor like mine, you can probably see why there's a running joke to ask people where they work when we know they work there).
I wonder if this is actually a publicity stunt FOR Apple. I mean, this IS putting their iCloud in the media again? Apple is a master of public relations, and there's no way they would let something this obvious slip. *conspiracy* haha
I'd say someone at Apple will be looking for work for not researching that one, especially since the company has had the name since 2005.
Apple researched it all right. If there is one thing Apple is good at, it is in the legal department, no matter which side of the fence that they are on.
First off, iCloud Communications did not trademark their name or their logo...oops. There is no record of them doing so in the USPTO. That's pretty piss poor for a company that is self proclaimed as 'global' and has been in operation since 2005. Apple filed for 11 trademark patents for the iCloud name on 6/1/11. So really, the whole things ends right there. iCloud Communications has no federal claim to the name, mark, or any reputation that it represents. They are incorporated, so I guess at least the owner's personal assets are protected when Apple files a countersuit. The USPTO does however list Xcerion as the previous holder, and whom Apple bought the name from. Those guys filed in 2008. $2M is a pretty good payoff for a small time computer program company.
Furthermore, iCloud Communications seems to be a small time telephone answering service in Phoenix. Not sure how they think that Apple's iCloud service parallels their services in any shape or form. Their website menu of services says nothing other than the genre of telephone answering and conferencing, but of course, in their lawsuit, they suddenly grew a couple of departments in the cloud storage area.
The US legal department needs to get serious on these types of frivolous lawsuits, and in the event of a loss, automatically charging the plaintiff with full legal fees incurred by the defendant without the need for a countersuit. That would stop this kind of stuff.
I am going to assume you are just young, but the introduction of the "i" (along with "e") to product names did not start with the iMac or even Apple. It was well in use during the 90s.
e-stuff definitely was, email gave rise to e-commerce and e-everything-else. That's without getting into the fact that the 90s was the decade of E in the other sense.
i-stuff however, I can't think of any significant i-stuff that wasn't apple, especially lowercase i followed by a capital. Only acronyms like IT, which is clearly a different kettle of iFish.
I'm not saying that apple own everything 'i'-prefixed, they obviously don't - but they did popularize the meme.
Not sure how there could be confusion - they offer VOIP service only - I think they are grasping at straws, hoping for a payout.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brandont2
"...'identical to or closely relate' goods and services..."
iCloud Communications offers VoIP services. How is that similar in any way to Apple's iCloud offering?
Apparently VoIP equals cloud storage of apps and music.
Quote:
Originally Posted by linke.account
Firstly: How on earth VoIP service is "close" to current services that Apple is going to launch in iCloud?? If that company really thinks so=> They don't know shit about technology and they should better go and sell vegetables.
Quote:
Originally Posted by irnchriz
Exactly.
I suppose it's worth a shot at getting some cash out of Apple. Of course if they were to change US law so that the loser in these cases has to pay the legal fees it would put an end to these fishing cases.
I get really worn out by constant lawsuits by patent trolls. That being said, if anyone here, you know, actually looked at this company's website they would see that this company also offers datacenter services as well. There's a link on the upper-right to their datacenter site. I'm sure that is what is at the crux of their complaints against Apple.
Was this company foolish that they didn't apply for trademarks on the "iCloud" name? Incredibly. It's inexplicable, but it's also irrelevant. All they have to do is show that they were using the name first. I think that there will be a settlement/acquisition before this drags out for too long.
Was this company foolish that they didn't apply for trademarks on the "iCloud" name? Incredibly. It's inexplicable, but it's also irrelevant. All they have to do is show that they were using the name first. I think that there will be a settlement/acquisition before this drags out for too long.
It's not quite irrelevant because they had allowed somebody else to claim the TM and operate a cloud service under it. It's a fundamental of TM law that you have to defend your TM. You can't wait around for a richer target the way that a patent holder can.
In essence that is why the beatles HAD to take Apple to court back in the 80s, if they hadn't they would have been open to losing their TMs on 'Apple', even though they originally only got 80k from Apple Computers, they demonstrated that they were actively defending their rights.
I'm sure Apple will settle for an obscene amount of money, the senior stakeholders of iCloud will all approve the settlement, fold the company, lay off all the employees and enjoy their new found wealth.
I'd say someone at Apple will be looking for work for not researching that one, especially since the company has had the name since 2005.
Right...Apple and their legal team just forgot to research it. This isn't middle school. They didn't forget anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mobycat
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but in the Apple Computer vs. Apple Music, the courts found in favor of Apple Computer. Doesn't sound like a good example to use.
(For the record, I don't think Apple Music had a legal leg to stand on back in 1981 - Apple Computer was not in the music business then. Much like Lexis vs. Lexus - nobody is going to confuse the two. And let's face it - Lexus/Lexis is a LOT more unique than Apple.)
No. Apple had to settle and promise not to go into the "music business." This is why the dispute came up again when they introduced the iTunes Music Store.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dude abides
Agreed, this should have been a no-brainer for their legal department. Getting a license first would've been a lot easier and cheaper.
Not necessarily.
Quote:
As to whether there's a likelihood of confusion between VOIP and Apple's services, to all of us who are on this forum, there's no confusion about the difference. But to the average (read ignorant) consumer, I can see a good decent argument on this company's side.
That's highly unlikely. They are two different products. Legally speaking, it takes more than having the same name.
On the other hand, you gotta wonder if this company's whole reason for naming themselves iCloud was simply in anticipation that Apple would soon pick the name and they could cash in.[/quote]
No one was talking about "the cloud" when they got that name.
Quote:
UPDATE:
A quick search of of the USPTO site shows that Apple has registered the iCloud mark under 13 different classes of goods/services including:
IC 38 - "Telecommunications; telecommunication access services; communications by computer; communication between computers..."
Also, there's another Swedish company that has a registered icloud mark for software for various purposes. So the USPTO didn't think that was confusing to deny registration.
Which makes me think perhaps Apple legal may have done their homework after all and decided they this little VOIP wasn't a real enough threat to negotiate with prior to the roll-out.
More than likely, yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pondosinatra
I'm sure Apple will settle for an obscene amount of money, the senior stakeholders of iCloud will all approve the settlement, fold the company, lay off all the employees and enjoy their new found wealth.
It's the American way!
I think iCloud will probably go away with zero money.
It's not quite irrelevant because they had allowed somebody else to claim the TM and operate a cloud service under it. It's a fundamental of TM law that you have to defend your TM. You can't wait around for a richer target the way that a patent holder can.
Comments
That's an "e".
Really? Did you read the quoted text in my response?
I'm fairly certain it's just "IHOP," for Internation House of Pancakes haha (Speaking of which, there's a road called Cox in my town. There's an IHOP (one of two in my town) located on it. For those with an immature sense of humor like mine, you can probably see why there's a running joke to ask people where they work when we know they work there).
I wonder if this is actually a publicity stunt FOR Apple. I mean, this IS putting their iCloud in the media again? Apple is a master of public relations, and there's no way they would let something this obvious slip. *conspiracy* haha
Try their Apple Fritters... teh delicious!
I'd say someone at Apple will be looking for work for not researching that one, especially since the company has had the name since 2005.
Apple researched it all right. If there is one thing Apple is good at, it is in the legal department, no matter which side of the fence that they are on.
First off, iCloud Communications did not trademark their name or their logo...oops. There is no record of them doing so in the USPTO. That's pretty piss poor for a company that is self proclaimed as 'global' and has been in operation since 2005. Apple filed for 11 trademark patents for the iCloud name on 6/1/11. So really, the whole things ends right there. iCloud Communications has no federal claim to the name, mark, or any reputation that it represents. They are incorporated, so I guess at least the owner's personal assets are protected when Apple files a countersuit. The USPTO does however list Xcerion as the previous holder, and whom Apple bought the name from. Those guys filed in 2008. $2M is a pretty good payoff for a small time computer program company.
Furthermore, iCloud Communications seems to be a small time telephone answering service in Phoenix. Not sure how they think that Apple's iCloud service parallels their services in any shape or form. Their website menu of services says nothing other than the genre of telephone answering and conferencing, but of course, in their lawsuit, they suddenly grew a couple of departments in the cloud storage area.
The US legal department needs to get serious on these types of frivolous lawsuits, and in the event of a loss, automatically charging the plaintiff with full legal fees incurred by the defendant without the need for a countersuit. That would stop this kind of stuff.
Apple Computer and Apple Records settled. Apple Computer paid. Later a license was granted to Apple Computer.
It's a bit more complicated than that!
In the end Apple purchased all of Apple's trademark rights - which is distinct from a settlement.
Apple owns all trademarks with character "i" in front..
That's called a phantom trademark and you can't do that. USPTO has rejected that in numerous occasions.
Just ask the XXX for Dummies folks
I am going to assume you are just young, but the introduction of the "i" (along with "e") to product names did not start with the iMac or even Apple. It was well in use during the 90s.
e-stuff definitely was, email gave rise to e-commerce and e-everything-else. That's without getting into the fact that the 90s was the decade of E in the other sense.
i-stuff however, I can't think of any significant i-stuff that wasn't apple, especially lowercase i followed by a capital. Only acronyms like IT, which is clearly a different kettle of iFish.
I'm not saying that apple own everything 'i'-prefixed, they obviously don't - but they did popularize the meme.
Not sure how there could be confusion - they offer VOIP service only - I think they are grasping at straws, hoping for a payout.
"...'identical to or closely relate' goods and services..."
iCloud Communications offers VoIP services. How is that similar in any way to Apple's iCloud offering?
Apparently VoIP equals cloud storage of apps and music.
Firstly: How on earth VoIP service is "close" to current services that Apple is going to launch in iCloud?? If that company really thinks so=> They don't know shit about technology and they should better go and sell vegetables.
Exactly.
I suppose it's worth a shot at getting some cash out of Apple. Of course if they were to change US law so that the loser in these cases has to pay the legal fees it would put an end to these fishing cases.
I get really worn out by constant lawsuits by patent trolls. That being said, if anyone here, you know, actually looked at this company's website they would see that this company also offers datacenter services as well. There's a link on the upper-right to their datacenter site. I'm sure that is what is at the crux of their complaints against Apple.
Was this company foolish that they didn't apply for trademarks on the "iCloud" name? Incredibly. It's inexplicable, but it's also irrelevant. All they have to do is show that they were using the name first. I think that there will be a settlement/acquisition before this drags out for too long.
Was this company foolish that they didn't apply for trademarks on the "iCloud" name? Incredibly. It's inexplicable, but it's also irrelevant. All they have to do is show that they were using the name first. I think that there will be a settlement/acquisition before this drags out for too long.
It's not quite irrelevant because they had allowed somebody else to claim the TM and operate a cloud service under it. It's a fundamental of TM law that you have to defend your TM. You can't wait around for a richer target the way that a patent holder can.
In essence that is why the beatles HAD to take Apple to court back in the 80s, if they hadn't they would have been open to losing their TMs on 'Apple', even though they originally only got 80k from Apple Computers, they demonstrated that they were actively defending their rights.
It's the American way!
I'd say someone at Apple will be looking for work for not researching that one, especially since the company has had the name since 2005.
Right...Apple and their legal team just forgot to research it. This isn't middle school. They didn't forget anything.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but in the Apple Computer vs. Apple Music, the courts found in favor of Apple Computer. Doesn't sound like a good example to use.
(For the record, I don't think Apple Music had a legal leg to stand on back in 1981 - Apple Computer was not in the music business then. Much like Lexis vs. Lexus - nobody is going to confuse the two. And let's face it - Lexus/Lexis is a LOT more unique than Apple.)
No. Apple had to settle and promise not to go into the "music business." This is why the dispute came up again when they introduced the iTunes Music Store.
Agreed, this should have been a no-brainer for their legal department. Getting a license first would've been a lot easier and cheaper.
Not necessarily.
As to whether there's a likelihood of confusion between VOIP and Apple's services, to all of us who are on this forum, there's no confusion about the difference. But to the average (read ignorant) consumer, I can see a good decent argument on this company's side.
That's highly unlikely. They are two different products. Legally speaking, it takes more than having the same name.
On the other hand, you gotta wonder if this company's whole reason for naming themselves iCloud was simply in anticipation that Apple would soon pick the name and they could cash in.[/quote]
No one was talking about "the cloud" when they got that name.
UPDATE:
A quick search of of the USPTO site shows that Apple has registered the iCloud mark under 13 different classes of goods/services including:
IC 38 - "Telecommunications; telecommunication access services; communications by computer; communication between computers..."
Also, there's another Swedish company that has a registered icloud mark for software for various purposes. So the USPTO didn't think that was confusing to deny registration.
Which makes me think perhaps Apple legal may have done their homework after all and decided they this little VOIP wasn't a real enough threat to negotiate with prior to the roll-out.
More than likely, yes.
I'm sure Apple will settle for an obscene amount of money, the senior stakeholders of iCloud will all approve the settlement, fold the company, lay off all the employees and enjoy their new found wealth.
It's the American way!
I think iCloud will probably go away with zero money.
It's not quite irrelevant because they had allowed somebody else to claim the TM and operate a cloud service under it. It's a fundamental of TM law that you have to defend your TM. You can't wait around for a richer target the way that a patent holder can.
This...good point.
"Apple has damaged the company's trademark..."???
I think Apple just gave their trademark the ultimate FREE publicity boost
apple bullies and sues everyone else about trademarks etc so i wish them good luck.