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Tag Archives: iPhone

What do iPhone, iPad, iCloud, and iBooks Have in Common?

Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, Trademarks

Let’s review: From 1978 through 2007, Apple was in on-again, off-again trademark litigation with Apple Corps, holder of rights in The Beatles’ music and record label, over use of the APPLE trademark in connection with numerous music-related aspects of various Apple products and services, including iTunes. In 2007, Apple introduced its iPhone while Cisco held… Continue Reading

iPhone-y Baloney

Posted in Law Suits

On April 15, Apple launched a massive suit against Samsung alleging various counts of patent and trademark infringement arising from Samsung’s Galaxy line of products. (The Complaint is here.) While the lawsuit involved claims of trade dress infringement and patent infringement, I was most interested in the trade dress aspects of the case.  Of particular interest to… Continue Reading

Is the iPad Name Going Generic?

Posted in Branding, Famous Marks, Genericide, Guest Bloggers, Loss of Rights, Marketing, Search Engines, Trademarks

—Mark Prus, Marketing Consultant at NameFlashSM Like many professional name developers, I opened 2010 by making fun of the Apple iPad name. Steve Jobs gave a strong case for naming the “tablet pc” in a way that was consistent with previous Apple naming conventions (iPod, iTunes, iPhone), but many of us poked fun at the… Continue Reading

PING Golf Plays Nice, Profits from Trademark Deal with Apple

Posted in Agreements, Branding, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Trademarks

  —Andrew Miller, Intern, Fast Horse Inc. In terms of name recognition, PING is to golf what Louisville Slugger is to baseball, so you’re right if you found it odd Apple would name its new music-based social network, of all things, Ping. Apple is no stranger to trademark litigation after wrangling with Cisco (“iPhone”) and… Continue Reading

Likelihood of Confusion (As to What?)

Posted in Advertising, Agreements, Branding, Contracts, Famous Marks, Goodwill, Marketing, Trademarks

Who is responsible for this billboard ad? Is it a Google advertisement? Verizon? Motorola? Droid? Whatever the answer, it helps make the point visually that trademarks require protection beyond mere confusion as to source; basically, the same point we made a while back (in response to Seth Godin’s trademark position and then during a friendly sparring match with Ron Coleman), as we discussed the breadth of the… Continue Reading

First iPhone, Now iPad: Guessing at Apple’s Trademark Clearance Strategy

Posted in Branding, Counterfeits, Dilution, Infringement, Marketing, Trademarks

Can you spot the genuine iPad? Back in July, I blogged about my then-discovery that Apple did not own the federal trademark registration for iPhone.  Needless to say, when I heard about Apple’s new iPad product, I just had to see if they were out in front in securing trademark rights to this name.  They’re… Continue Reading

Describe Different

Posted in Branding, Guest Bloggers, Marketing, Search Engines, Trademarks

"What am I?" Every invention begs this essential question of identity. The answer is found in the product’s descriptor. A descriptor defines a thing, categorizing it, framing it, positioning it and signaling its intended future. A product that doesn’t claim to break new ground adopts its category’s standard convention. For example, a new, run-of-the-mill digital… Continue Reading

Lessons from the iPhone Trademark Spat

Posted in Agreements, Branding, Famous Marks, Infringement, Law Suits, Trademarks

I don’t recall what I was doing in January of 2007, but I apparently missed the news that Cisco had sued Apple over Apple’s then-newly announced iPhone product.  I actually stumbled upon this accidentally when I recently searched for federal trademark registrations for IPHONE and found only one, and it belongs to Cisco.  (PDF here.)  Your eyes are… Continue Reading