September 3 - 6:50pm EDT   Apple has filed a trademark application for "Cocoa Touch," the software toolset that allows developers to access the Multi-Touch and accelerometer features in the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch. Apple has filed under International Class 009 in the U-S, seeking a trademark in the programming, data recovery and data analysis category. The Cocoa Touch API framework is included in the iPhone SDK. [full story]

August 26 - 12:55am EDT   Apple's legal machine has turned its sights on an independent developer, a college student responsible for an iPhone Tetris clone called Tris, who is conceding to the company's removal of the game from the App Store. Developer Noah Witherspoon says that Apple contacted him on behalf of The Tetris Company, who complained of trademark and copyright violations. While Witherspoon believes he could overcome the issue in the court system, but as a student, he lacks the proper resources to do so. [full story]

August 7 - 4:00pm EDT   Apple has applied for a trademark for its System Preferences logo, according to new filings. The US Patent and Trademark Office published Apple's trademark filing #77535337 on August 6. The filing is a TEAS Plus application under Class 009 (computer Software for managing user system settings and preferences). The logo being trademarked is presented below, both in its simplified visual representation and its actual sample forms. The image is used in all recent versions of the Dock in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. [full story]

July 11 - 4:40pm EDT   Apple and Canada's Comwave Telecom have settled their trademark dispute over the use of the name "iPhone." The agreement was reached Wednesday night, with Apple retaining sole rights to the iPhone name in Canada, and Comwave phasing out its use of the name in reference to its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service by November 9. Further terms were not disclosed. The agreement, first reported by the Globe and Mail, ends a long battle between the two companies. [full story]

June 27 - 12:00am EDT   After filing documents trademark documents concerning the use of "Pod" and "iPod" in products and advertising, Apple is pursuing a lawsuit against a Michigan iPod repair business, the iPod Mechanic. AppleInsider reveals that in 2006, Apple had warned business owner Nicholas Woodhams over the use of the terms, asking him to stop. Woodhams allegedly agreed, but did not follow through, and has now supposedly tipped the scales by committing fraud against Apple. [full story]

April 7 - 5:15pm EDT   The European Trademark Office recently published 55 newly registered iPod icons, and were originally filed with Munich office of Bardehle, Pagenbert, Dost, Altenburg, and Geissler. The icons more or less cover the gamut of those offered by the iPod, relating to videos, podcasts, notes, iPod radio, games, voice memos, and the Nike+ sport system. The icons appear on current generation iPod nanos and Classics, as users navigate menus to examine their libraries, among other things. [full story]

April 3 - 2:25pm EDT   Apple is claiming that a new logo for New York City's GreeNYC campaign is too similar to its own. According to Wired, the GreeNYC logo shows a stylized apple with a stalk and a leaf that bears a resemblance to Apple's famous logo. When the city applied for a trademark on the logo, Apple filed a formal opposition, claiming that a trademark grant on the logo would "seriously injure the reputation which [Apple] has established for its goods and services." The city of New York stated, in response: "The city believes that Apple's claims have no merit and that no consumer is likely to be confused. This well-known city is using its new design in a variety of contexts that have ... [full story]