A Chinese company can use the name 'iPhone' for non-Apple products, court rules
A Chinese company can use the name 'iPhone' for non-Apple
products, court rules
Apple lost a trademark dispute
By Ananya Bhattacharya
on May 3, 2016 01:13 pm
A long-drawn-out battle has been ensuing between tech
giant Apple and a Chinese company you probably haven't heard of — and it's not
looking good for Silicon Valley's star child. Apple recently lost a trademark
suit against Beijing's Xintong Tiandi Technology, which has been selling
leather goods like handbags, cell phone cases, and more with the brand name
"IPHONE," Quartz reported.
The trademark dispute between Apple and the local Chinese
company began in 2012 as Apple fought to gain exclusive rights over the iPhone
brand. The trademark authority in China as well as a lower Beijing court dismissed
Apple’s claims. Apple appealed but on March 31st, The Beijing Municipal High
People's Court rejected the appeal, allowing Xintong Tiandi to keep selling its
IPHONE products, local media Legal Daily reported.
ONE NAME, TWO TRADEMARKS
Apple applied to trademark "IPHONE" in 2002,
but the trademark wasn't approved until 2013 under Class 9: Electrical and
Scientific Apparatus. Five years after Apple's application, in 2007 — around
the time Apple was launching its first iPhone in the US — Xintong Tiandi
applied for the same trademark. In 2010, their trademark was approved under
Class 18: Leather goods.
Chinese authorities refused to revoke Xintong Tiandi's
trademark and argued that Apple's iPhone was not prominent in the region when
Xintong Tiandi submitted its application. Apple's iPhone only arrived in the
Chinese mainland market in 2009, so the Silicon Valley company could not prove
that the "IPHONE" brand had high visibility before Xintong Tiandi
entered the market space.
On its website, Xintong Tiandi seemed pleased with the
decision and expressed a desire to work with Apple to further the iPhone brand.
"We will also make full achievement of the 'iphone' trademark, and work
together [with Apple] to benefit more iphone consumers," Quartz translated
from the Chinese website. Apple did not comment.
INTERNATIONAL BRANDS STRUGGLE TO AVOID PLAGIARISM IN
CHINA
This isn't the first time US brands have struggled for
their rights in China and faced resistance. In 2015, Michael Jordan lost the fight
against an alleged trademark violation by a company that used the Chinese
translation of his last name, his jersey number, as well as Nike Air's iconic
"jumpman" logo on its products. More recently, Under Armour has
threatened to sue Uncle Martian, a new Chinese sports company that plagiarized
its logo.
Last year, Chinese Segway copycat company Ninebot
actually ended up buying Segway and being sponsored by Xiaomi. However,
sneaking their way into partnering for official Apple merchandise may not be a
foolproof plan for Xintong Tiandi, considering Apple only works with a select
few genuine partners.
TIM COOK REMAINS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT CHINA
Over the years, China has proven to be a rough sea for
the tech giant. Back in 2012, Apple had to pay a Shenzhen tech company $60
million over the iPad name. Last year, it went as far as blocking its news app
in the country to avoid displeasing the Chinese authorities.
China, however, remains a valuable market for Apple. Even
though sales in mainland China fell 11 percent in the first quarter of this
year compared to the same period last year, Tim Cook is optimistic. In the last
fiscal year, Apple earned $58 billion from China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan
— more than all other foreign companies.
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