02/13, 9:35am
Could signal escalation in Apple vs. Proview
Officials in the Chinese city of Shijiazhuang raided an unnamed Apple reseller over the weekend, reports claim. In all 45 iPad 2s are said to have been confiscated; despite the limited scope of the raid, Chinese news sources indicate that a number of other vendors have decided to hide their iPad stock rather than risk losing it. Shoppers should nevertheless still be able to buy iPad 2s from official and unofficial sources in the city.
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02/07, 11:20am
Apology, iPad embargo among demands
A lawyer for Proview Shenzhen, Xie Xianghui, is claiming that a court in the Xicheng district of Beijing is prepared to "slap Apple with a 240 million yuan ($38 million) fine," according to the Global Times. The Xicheng district administration, though, is refusing to comment. "It is still under investigation, so no official comments on the case can be made yet," a media officer with the administration states. The China Daily meanwhile quotes Xie as also demanding an apology, and an injunction against the sale and marketing of iPads in China.
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09/06, 1:30pm
May be defensive move related to trademark change
Apple is accusing a Chinese business of infringing its logo trademarks, reports say. The company in question, Sichuan Fangguo Food, similarly uses a red apple image as its logo, although the Fangguo image is more abstract. It contains hard lines for example, and a quarter of the apple has been cut out. A pattern on the inside of the logo may have greater resemblance to LG's logo design.
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08/29, 3:50pm
Engine should remain open, name may not
Research in Motion has filed an opposition motion in Canada, attempting to block an Apple trademark application for the term "WebKit," notes Patently Apple. In the short term the move will give RIM some extra time to prepare a case, the deadline being November 22nd. Apple first filed for the application in May 2010.
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06/23, 1:20pm
Demands small firm hand over web domain
Apple is targeting multiple organizations in its bid to claim the "app store" trademark, reports say. In addition to pursuing Amahi, the company has turned its attention to The PC App Store, which describes itself as "an information source about software applications to make your PC do the things that you want it to do." Apple is demanding not only a halt on the use of the words "app store," but also that the pcappstore.com domain be handed over.
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06/20, 4:30pm
Rights only transferred on May 11th
Apple had to obtain the US "AirDrop" trademark for OS X Lion from an Android app marketer, according to Patently Apple. The latter party is Urban Airship, which continues to use the name for a service in which Android developers upload an app, receive redeem codes and distribute them to other people. The trademark was transferred on May 11th, and the change took effect June 9th.
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04/26, 12:00pm
One of Apple's oldest stores to relocate
Apple has filed for a US trademark on the term "Startup," a report notes. A Jamaican trademark was actually filed for in October 2010, most likely as a way of claiming priority when applying in the US. As the trademark would cover several categories -- retail stores, maintenance and installation of hardware and software, educational services and technical support -- the name is thought to be related to expanded training and setup services that have been in play at Apple Stores since earlier this year.
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03/03, 10:50pm
Trademark focuses on paired-bubbles Ping icon
Apple today filed for a new trademark for its Ping bubbles symbol. Patently Apple reports that Apple applied for four distinct trademarks related to the paired bubbles, each resembling conversation bubbles from a comic strip, though the Apple bubbles are more stylized. The trademark applications are filed under classes for computer software, online retail services, entertainment and educational services and online social networking services.
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12/23, 12:20pm
Covers little-known feature of Apple tech support
Apple has filed for a US trademark on the term "VoicePass," reports say. The application was submitted under the "Construction and Repair Services" category, which covers an extremely broad range of potential uses. Specifically, though, the trademark is meant to cover a generally unknown feature of Apple technical support.
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10/27, 1:20pm
Name worth up to $800 million?
A company based in Shenzhen, China is accusing Apple of copyright infringement, writes Agence France-Presse. Proview Technology is reported to have registered an "iPad" trademark as far back as January 2000; more importantly, the firm is believed to still hold rights to the product name inside of China. Apple only launched its own iPad in the country on September 17th, several months after an American introduction.
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10/26, 2:15am
Filings done in Jamaica, Trinidad, China
Chinese trademark applications filed shortly after the "Back to the Mac" special event last week and just revealed yesterday have disclosed that the company had previously moved to trademark the names "Lion" and "Mission Control" in Jamaica two weeks earlier, Patently Apple reports. It wasn't until the day of the event that a third application, for "LaunchPad" was filed in Trinidad and Tobago.
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10/11, 3:15pm
Scores victory on App Store slogan
Apple has been awarded a US trademark for the phrase "There's an app for that," reports note. A filing was originally submitted to the USPTO in December 2009, and claims commercial use dating back to January 26th of that year. The slogan lies at the core of Apple's efforts to promote the App Store and the iPhone, and has become a common staple of pop culture, often parodied.
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05/27, 4:45pm
Tech supports several browsers
Apple has filed for a trademark on WebKit, the engine at the heart of Safari, documents show. While an open-source project, Apple is the creator and primary developer of the engine, which handles the critical task of page rendering. The technology has been adapted for use in several other platforms, including Google's Chrome and Android browsers, and HP/Palm's WebOS.
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05/19, 9:55am
Details extend down to colors
Apple has filed for a US trademark on its most common retail store design, documents show. Several key elements are made apparent through an attached photo and a diagram, including the exterior's stainless steel border around a glass entrance. Inside, the trademark would apply to advertising displays on walls, the Genius Bar, and even the layout of wooden tables used to host demos of Macs, iPods, iPhones and iPads.
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03/01, 4:25pm
Company expanding retail efforts?
Apple is attempting to trademark a concept called "Joint Venture," filings reveal. A victory would net Apple rights under four different International Classes. The first, 035, covers "retail store services featuring computers, computer software, computer peripherals, and consumer electronic devices," while 037 involves "maintenance, installation and repair of computer hardware, computer peripherals, computer networks, and consumer electronic devices" as well as related "information, advisory and consultancy services."
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02/26, 11:40am
Likely to cover MacBook trackpads
Apple is looking to secure the name "Magic Trackpad" through the US Patent and Trademark Office, new filings show. The trademark would apply specifically under International Classification 009, within which are technologies such as touchscreens and graphics tablets. It is not clear if the name refers to a future product or an existing one.
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02/15, 3:35pm
Cements American trademark control
Apple has been granted a new set of iPhone trademarks by the US Patent and Trademark Office. While the company already owns the name "iPhone" for various purposes, a new grant extends the American trademarks to include a common logo, which utilizes the Apple symbol alongside text. It also extends the number of categories covered; whereas the basic iPhone name is covered under International Classes 9 and 38, the logo trademarks add Class 28, which mentions "playing electronic games."
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02/04, 1:15pm
Mutual agreement likely
Apple has obstacles in Europe to overcome if it wants to legally use the name iPad, news sources observe. A joint French-Italian company, STMicroelectronics, is already said to have continental rights to the name under two trademark classifications, covering print usage and electronics and components. An Apple front is recently believed to have filed for six European classifications, including the two which STMicro operates under.
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01/20, 5:30pm
Multiple deadline extensions requested
Apple is actively working to take the American "iPad" trademark away from Fujitsu, unearthed documents show. It was recently discovered that Apple is filing for the iPad name in Canada, Europe and Hong Kong, but that because of Fujitsu, the company cannot do so in the US. The Fujitsu iPAD is already a tangible product, a handheld device used by retail workers.
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01/19, 3:45pm
Name more likely for Apple tablet?
The name "iPad" may be a more likely choice for the Apple tablet, new information is thought to suggest. Just discovered in Canadian trademark databases is an application for the name by Slate Computing, well known as a front company for Apple. The application was originally submitted in July 2009, making it far more recent than ones for the name "iSlate," filed elsewhere around 2006 or 2007.
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12/29, 4:40pm
Casts doubt on importance of 'iSlate' name
Apple is using another shell company, iGuide Media, to hold onto a second potentially tablet-related name, reports say. It was last week noticed that Apple had claimed the "iSlate" trademark for the US and Europe, using a shell organization called Slate Computing. The front also owns the "Magic Slate" trademark, and rights to iSlate.com, though the domain is currently unused.
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12/17, 7:55pm
Company taking pre-orders for JooJoo tablet
Fusion Garage on Thursday responded to the lawsuit filed by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.The company claims it has already received $3 million in funding, while a second round will be announced sometime in the next few weeks. Fusion has maintained that its Joojoo tablet design is separate from the CrunchPad, while the manufacturing will also be handled by a different supplier.
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12/09, 1:25pm
Company looking to revive old marketing?
The US Patent and Trademark Office has published a new Apple trademark application, covering the company's "Think Different" marketing slogan. Originally introduced in 1997, the slogan formed the heart of a campaign tying Apple to current and historical celebrities, such as Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Mahatma Gandhi and Pablo Picasso. It fell into disuse starting in 2002, as the company began pushing a "Switch" campaign and later its "Get a Mac" ads.
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10/08, 9:55am
Apple may have to change mouse name
Years after having taken both Apple and CBS to court, Man & Machine has announced that it has at last been awarded registration of the "Mighty Mouse" trademark. The small accessory maker previously filed a 14-page complaint, claiming it had developed a desktop waterproof mouse under the same name over a year prior to the debut of Apple's product. The company also accused Apple of intentionally buying up search keywords for the phrase "Mighty Mouse," which further diverted people from finding their Mighty Mouse model or its website.
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07/13, 4:15pm
MBP, C. Display trademarks
Apple has won a collection of important design trademarks from the European Trademark and Design Office, divided between two major products. A full 30 belong to the unibody MacBook Pro, which uses a unique chassis built out of a single block of aluminum. Also covered is the notebook's multi-touch trackpad, which omits a visible button in favor of one situated beneath.
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05/14, 11:45am
New iPhone icons
Apple has registered several new iPhone-related icons in Europe, which when taken together, may illustrate the company's plans for future hardware and software. The icons consist of a road, a flame, a target, a stopwatch and a blank circle; of these the most intelligible may be the first, which could be bound to some form of in-car navigation support. The iPhone 3.0 firmware is known to ready for turn-by-turn navigation, and adding a magnetometer could ensure accurate direction tracking.
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04/15, 2:55pm
iTunes Pass trademark
Filing through the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple has applied for a trademark on the concept of its iTunes Pass service. The option is a subset of the iTunes Store, allowing shoppers to pay for a complete musical collection -- usually from a particular band -- and download each piece as it becomes available. All tracks are iTunes Plus-quality, and can be accompanied by videos, exclusive songs and other material.
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03/17, 12:50pm
Genius trademark bloats
Apple has applied to extend the coverage of its Genius logo trademark, filings from the US Patent and Trademark Office show. The trademark was originally sought after in 2007, but only in reference to the Genius Bar found in Apple Stores and other related services. An updated trademark would also cover Genius playlists and sidebars, currently used for video and music in iTunes.
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12/09, 10:50am
Grand Central trademark
Working through the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple has filed for a trademark on Grand Central, a technology expected to be used in Mac OS X Snow Leopard, due sometime next year. Not to be confused with Google's phone management system, the Apple technology is intended to aid developers in supporting multi-core processors, which can often be underexploited even in high-end software such as games and rendering tools.
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11/21, 3:20pm
Apple OpenCL trademark
Apple has filed for a trademark on OpenCL technology, documents from the US Patent and Trademark Office show. The standard is intended to better distribute processing power on a computer, by using the normally segregated processing on a video card to help with tasks unrelated to graphics. Video cards can be extremely powerful, Apple notes, but only tend to maximize their use in certain applications, such as games.
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11/05, 4:40pm
Apple 'Indie' trademark
Apple has filed for a trademark on one of the long-standing features of the iTunes Store, documents show. The "Indie Spotlight" section of the store has been around in various forms since 2006, and highlights favored artists whose labels have not been subsumed by a major one such as EMI, Universal or Sony BMG. Apple's selling of independent music reaches back to 2004 however, when it began carrying labels such as Beggars and V2.
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08/19, 3:55pm
iDisk, Mac trademarks
Apple has applied for two new additions to its trademark pool, filings show. The first is simply entitled iDisk, and covers the online file storage system first debuted through .Mac, and more recently continued with the advent of MobileMe. A successful trademark would be listed under International Class 042, and Apple cites its iDisk website as evidence of commercial use.
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07/07, 11:55am
Apple iPhone trademark
Apple has formally filed to trademark the name "iPhone" with the US Patent and Trademark Office, documents show. Although the device has been on sale in the United States since last year, the company still does not technically own the trademark; this is likely due do a legal battle with Cisco, now resolved, over an existing VoIP phone which also bore the iPhone name. At present, the companies are allowing each other to share the iPhone moniker.
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05/21, 10:05am
Apple 'Mighty Mouse' suit
Apple is facing a new lawsuit over its Mighty Mouse peripheral, reports say. The case was filed in Greenbelt, Maryland by a company called Man & Machine, which is accusing Apple of violating a trademark associated with its own Mighty Mouse device, an optical mouse designed to be waterproof and chemical-resistant for use in environments such as labs and hospitals. Crucially, M&M began selling its product in 2004, over a year before Apple's device went on the market.
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04/21, 3:05pm
iTunes trademark expands
Apple is working to greatly expand the reach of its iTunes trademark, a filing at the European Trademark Office reveals. While Apple already owns multiple trademarks related to its combination music and video software, the new application would see the number of applicable categories jump from four to 19, making it extremely difficult for other companies to poach the name. Apple has in the past encountered conflicts with names such as "iPhone" or "iTV," due to other companies laying early claim. Problems with the latter resulted in the Apple TV.
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03/11, 11:35am
'Thinnovation' trademark
Apple has filed for a new trademark with the European Trademark Office, simply entitled Thinnovation. Apple has been using the term in slogans ever since it revealed the MacBook Air on January 15th, inserting it primarily into web and print advertising. These uses are the focus of the International Classifications in the trademark filing; the trademark would also apply to installation and maintenance, as well as educational and training purposes.
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