trademark

China said it would change its laws to crack down on "malicious" trademark registrations, which have allowed local companies to misuse well-known names and brands.

The changes come after international companies and well-known individuals have complained to China, according to Reuters, citing state media today.

Perhaps most famous is the case in which a Chinese company sued Apple for the use of the name "iPad," a dispute Apple ultimately settled for $60 million.

Other instances include Michael Jordan, who sued a Chinese sportswear company for using his name, and French luxury brand Hermes International, which has … Read more

Brazil-based electronics company IGB Eletronica on Tuesday announced a new line of devices bearing the name "IPHONE."

The first of those devices will be called the Neo One, the company said inside a press release spotted earlier today by Reuters.

Product pages that went up later in the day provided more details about the quad-band device, which costs 599 Brazilian real (about $287 U.S. dollars), runs Google's Android 2.3.4, and sports a 320x480 screen.

The name is sure to draw the ire of Apple, which recently settled a multimillion dollar issue over the rights … Read more

The iconic startup sound of Apple's Mac computers is now trademarked in the United States, following an approval by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple filed for the trademark in June, and was granted the trademark yesterday, notes Patently Apple.

The sound, which has changed only a handful of times over the years, was created by programmer Jim Reekes, who spent 12 years at Apple as a software architect. It even made an appearance in Pixar's 2008 film "Wall-E."

Here's a collection of Mac chimes (including the ones indicating massive errors) from over … Read more

Apple last week was granted a trademark in the U.S. covering "Retina," the marketing term the company uses to describe the pixel-dense screens on its iOS devices and computers.

Apple originally filed to trademark the term on June 7, 2010 -- the same day it officially unveiled the iPhone 4 at the company's annual developers conference.

That device would be the first to sport what Apple called a "Retina Display," with the promise that it was impossible to discern individual pixels when used at a normal distance. The company has since put its retina … Read more

Apple appears to have secured use of the European trademark for Lightning from Harley-Davidson.

The term, which Apple uses to reference the connector for the new iPhone 5, was partially transferred to Apple on Thursday, according to the Trade Marks and Design Office of the European Union. TMDO documents show that the Harley-Davidson-owned trademark No. 003469541 was partially transferred to Apple under trademark No. 011399862.

TMDO defines a partial transfer as a transfer of the term for use in a limited number of goods or services, suggesting that Harley-Davidson will still be able to use the term. Harley-Davidson's trademark … Read more

Apple has applied for a trademark on the "iPad Mini" brand.

The company filed the trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week. In the application, Apple describes its tablet as a full-featured slate, offering everything from Web connectivity to calendaring.

Here's Apple's description of its tablet: A "handheld mobile digital electronic device comprising a tablet computer, electronic book and periodical reader, digital audio and video player, camera, electronic personal organizer, personal digital assistant, electronic calendar, and mapping and global positioning system (GPS) device, and capable of providing access to the … Read more

If you're naming an operating system, best to avoid the word "Lion." You might find yourself in court, facing Apple.

The U.S. Office of Patents and Trademarks has approved the Cupertino company's trademark, giving Apple rights to the name for its "computer operating system and application development tool software." The trademark is spelled with a capital "L" followed by lowercase letters.

Apple filed the request on April 6, 2011, a few months before it filed for "OS X MOUNTAIN LION" and "MOUNTAIN LION." Neither of the later … Read more

In Apple's continuing trademark battle with Amazon over its use of the "App Store" name, the Internet retailer has asked a federal judge to dismiss Apple's false-advertising claim.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit Apple filed in April 2011 that accused Amazon of misappropriating the moniker, for which Apple applied for the trademark in 2008, a week after the company launched its iPhone App Store. The lawsuit sought an injunction against Amazon's use of App Store to describe its digital download store.

Apple amended its complaint last November to include claims of false advertising. Apple … Read more

Apple's efforts to trademark an icon for its iOS music player in the U.S. have been denied due to design from a company that no longer exists.

As part of a decision handed down by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board last week, the group found Apple's icon a bit too similar to one issued to iLike in 2008, upholding an initial finding from a trademark examiner.

iLike, of course, no longer exists. The company was gobbled up by MySpace in late 2009 and was eventually absorbed into the company's own music product.

"In comparing … Read more