Apple loses iPhone naming rights in Brazil, report says
Brazil's National Industrial Property Institute (INPI) on Monday reportedly rejected an Apple claim for exclusive "iphone" naming rights in the country, noting that the mark was filed for by a local electronics company in 2000.
Citing people familiar with the matter, local publication Folha de S.Paulo reported on Tuesday that the INPI ruled Brazilian electronics maker IGB, which was awarded rights to "iphone" under the Gradiente brand in 2008 after filing for it in 2000, will retain exclusive rights to the trademark. There has yet to be official word regarding the decision, however, as technical problems with INPI's Intellectual Property Magazine have pushed back a scheduled announcement to Feb. 13.
In an interview with Bloomberg, IGB Chairman Eugenio Emilio Staub said Apple has not contacted the company.
?We?re open to a dialogue for anything, anytime,? Staub said. ?We?re not radicals.?
INPI Spokesman Marcelo Chimento confirmed a ruling had been made, but declined to share details regarding the decision.
A follow-up report from Reuters corroborates the Brazilian publication's claims, adding that IGB Electronica SA, a company created after a restructuring of Gradiente, launched its own "iphone" smartphone in December. The device runs Google's Android operating system and retails for 599 reais, or about $302.
Apple sought exclusive rights to the "iPhone" moniker in 2006, eight months before the company launched the first iteration of the popular handset in 2007.
Citing people familiar with the matter, local publication Folha de S.Paulo reported on Tuesday that the INPI ruled Brazilian electronics maker IGB, which was awarded rights to "iphone" under the Gradiente brand in 2008 after filing for it in 2000, will retain exclusive rights to the trademark. There has yet to be official word regarding the decision, however, as technical problems with INPI's Intellectual Property Magazine have pushed back a scheduled announcement to Feb. 13.
In an interview with Bloomberg, IGB Chairman Eugenio Emilio Staub said Apple has not contacted the company.
?We?re open to a dialogue for anything, anytime,? Staub said. ?We?re not radicals.?
INPI Spokesman Marcelo Chimento confirmed a ruling had been made, but declined to share details regarding the decision.
A follow-up report from Reuters corroborates the Brazilian publication's claims, adding that IGB Electronica SA, a company created after a restructuring of Gradiente, launched its own "iphone" smartphone in December. The device runs Google's Android operating system and retails for 599 reais, or about $302.
Apple sought exclusive rights to the "iPhone" moniker in 2006, eight months before the company launched the first iteration of the popular handset in 2007.
Comments
My exact thought when I read this. I'd say that should amount to leverage but apparently not!
Apple will pay what it takes to get the name.
Apple started the "i" thing in 1998 with the iMac. Afterwards, a couple other companies had the foresight (or luck!) to grab similar names that Apple ended up wanting as well. Such is life. Write the check!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjrkong
Could actually open things up a bit .....
What does that mean?
Quote:
Originally Posted by nagromme
Apple will pay what it takes to get the name.
Yes,
and considering they are not 'radicals', they'll obviously be very reasonable. (I mean we know what them damn radicals are like
/s
Quote:
Originally Posted by nagromme
Apple will pay what it takes to get the name.
Apple started the "i" thing in 1998 with the iMac. Afterwards, a couple other companies had the foresight (or luck!) to grab similar names that Apple ended up wanting as well. Such is life. Write the check!
IMAX (Image Maximum) predates (about 1971) iMac!
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
What does that mean?
Perhaps he was thinking that it would give Apple an opportunity to come up with something new - either to replace the iPhone as a brand name - or to complement it with a product that perhaps is a lower cost model that would only be sold in specific countries such as Brasil.
Apple will be paying dearly for that. Someone's gonna get rich.
Let's hope this doesn't the buy out doesn't come close to a Proview price point!
Quote:
Originally Posted by nagromme
Apple started the "i" thing in 1998 with the iMac. Afterwards, a couple other companies had the foresight (or luck!) to grab similar names that Apple ended up wanting as well. Such is life. Write the check!
Apple did not start the "i" thing. Using "i" (lower or upper case) as a prefix meaning "internet" or "interactive" was pretty common in the industry, starting in the early '90s along with the growth and popularity of the internet.
Heck, that's why Apple's advertising agency pushed Jobs to use "iMac"... to go with the latest fad... instead of using the name that Jobs wanted, the "MacMan" ... which itself was a rather old fad at the time (adding "Man" on the end, because of the Sony Walkman).
Quote:
Originally Posted by KDarling
Apple did not start the "i" thing. Using "i" (lower or upper case) as a prefix meaning "internet" or "interactive" was pretty common in the industry, starting in the early '90s along with the growth and popularity of the internet.
Heck, that's why Apple's advertising agency pushed Jobs to use "iMac"... to go with the latest fad... instead of using the name that Jobs wanted, the "MacMan" ... which itself was a rather old fad at the time (adding "Man" on the end, because of the Sony Walkman).
Interim - Actually Steve Jobs called himself iCEO when he returned to Apple. I think that was 1997 and I am pretty sure it predated the release of the first iMac.
Quote:
Originally Posted by irnchriz
'If' gradient didn't produce a mobile phone before 2011 called the iphone does Apple not have a case against them of 'passing off'
There was a case between Cisco and Apple that was settled. Cisco actually had a trademark on iphone and a shipping product.
Originally Posted by paxman
Interim - Actually Steve Jobs called himself iCEO when he returned to Apple. I think that was 1997 and I am pretty sure it predated the release of the first iMac.
He returned in '96, first iMac in '98, but I believe there was an "iProduct" from a third party in roughly '94-5…