Canadian iPhone ruling may not occur for months

It may be months or even years before Canadians can finally buy a domestic iPhone, the government now says. The major obstacle is the Toronto VoIP company Comwave, which has already used the term "iPhone;" Apple has had to contest the issue through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, and an initial examiner's report was expected for June 26th. According to a CIPO spokeswoman however, the June date is only a deadline by which Apple and Comwave have to reply to an earlier notification, and either company could ask for an extension that would delay a resolution by four months.

The spokeswoman also notes that technically, the June deadline only relates to putting Apple and Comwave's trademark applications aside, while the primary conflict is discussed separately. Canadian trademark conflicts can in fact take as long as two years to be resolved, so any release of the iPhone prior to that point may likely involve a private settlement.

Filed under: iPhone, Apple
Other story tags: Canada, copyright, Comwave