Tag: trademark

Huawei Trademark Three P Series Smartphones; Dubbed The P300, P400 & P500
Amidst all the unfavourable situations that Huawei had to face after the US ban, its pace of developing and launching new smartphones has stayed unaffected. Earlier this year, it launched three smartphones in the “P” handset lineup which include the P30, P30 Pro and the P30 Lite.

Chronological name sequencing suggests that the successors of the handsets would carry the Huawei P40 branding, however, a latest piece of news suggests that the company is about to stir things a bit.

On the 2nd of August, Huawei was granted three trademarks by the UK IPO (Intellectual Property Office) which carry the following names:
- P300
- P400
- P500
For readers who do not know, it is mandatory for OEMs to get their device names registered with Intellectual Property Offices of different countries or regions. So that once a trademark has been registered, another company cannot make use of the name for their products.

The trademarks are categorised as Class 9 with the description; ‘smartphones; mobile phones; tablets’. Hence it is clear that the newly trademarked Huawei listings are concerned with smartphones or mobile handsets.

Huawei has never released a P-Series smartphone with a hundred in the model name. Correspondingly it is hard to deduce precise details about the handsets. Nonetheless, theory can be derived that the P400 could become the P40, the P300 could become the P40 Lite, while the P500 becomes the name of the P40 Pro at the time of official launch.

Also Read: Galaxy Note 10 Accessories Including Flip Cover Leaked Before Launch

Unfortunately, the trademarks do not reveal any feature or specification of the upcoming smartphone. As observed with past instances, Huawei usually launches P-series smartphones in the Q1 of the respective year and upcoming devices are expected to follow suit.

Therefore we will have to wait patiently as that time period is still distant.
August 3, 2019
LG Trademarks A Slew Of Smartphones Including One Called The M10

LG was one of the first companies to launch a smartphone with the Android operating system. In the early years of the decade, the company had delivered praiseworthy handsets like the Optimus One, LG G2, LG Nexus 4 which were highly popular amongst users across the globe. However, as Chinese OEMs like Xiaomi, Oppo and Huawei started selling value for money devices at marginalised profits, long-settled companies like Sony, LG and HTC had to fall back.

Nevertheless, after devising new strategies, LG once again entered the budget and mid-range smartphone arena with the “W” series of smartphones that debuted in India last month.

Subsequently, LG is expected to launch a variety of new devices in its home country which will be a part of a brand new “M” lineup. The company had filed numerous trademarks with KIPRIS (Korean Intellectual Property Rights Information Service) under the category 9 that deals with “mobile phone and smartphones”.

The first handset in the trademark is dubbed the “M10” which coincidentally matches the moniker of a smartphone made by another Korean Giant, Samsung and the device name is Galaxy M10. Therefore, it is possible that the upcoming LG smartphone will be targetted towards the budget segment. Furthermore, the company may even launch smartphones like M20, M30, etc in the distant future.

Also Read: More Concept Images Of The Mi Mix 4 With Pop Up Camera Surface Online

Other than that, the company had previously filed trademarks for the V60 and V70 labels which have now been granted. Going by chronological order, these smartphones will succeed the LG V50 ThinQ which was launched earlier this year. Taking into consideration, that Samsung and Apple are yet to reveal flagship devices in the near future which will be the Galaxy Note 10 lineup and 2019 iPhone lineup in respective order. Hence, it is possible that LG launches the V60 or V70 later this year to compete with these devices.

All in all, LG may be planning a proper comeback in the smartphone business. However, in order to verify the claims and theories, we will have to wait until LG officially spreads some light on its future plans.

July 19, 2019
Samsung XCover FieldPro Rugged Smartphone Leaked

Samsung had just unveiled the XCover 4S earlier this month. A fresh report now showcases that the South Korean company is working on a new device in the lineup of rugged phones. These smartphones are robust and do not require extra protection like cases. The new handset will be dubbed the XCover FieldPro and will bring improvements across the board for the upcoming device.

Samsung applied for a trademark for the device that will probably be an advanced variant of the previously launched XCover 4S. The aforementioned series of smartphones are built to survive tough usage and resist wear and tear in harsh environments not recommended for traditional smartphones. Rugged phones are designed to be dust and waterproof devices and be used in fieldwork areas such as construction or off-shore sights. The XCover FieldPro will most likely sport a more powerful processor and an improved camera over its previous iterations.

Unfortunately, no additional information is available apart from the trademark being filed under the XCover FieldPro name. It is clear through its name that it is a ‘Pro’ model and should feature top of the line or at least better internal specifications than its predecessors. Samsung had previously also launched an extra model for its XCover 3. However, the new variant the XCover 3 Value Edition arrived a year later with just software improvements.

The XCover FieldPro will also run on the Android 9 Pie OS similar to the XCover 4S, if not the upcoming Android 10 Q version. The name of the device initially makes it sound like a gadget accessory for the XCover series but the filed report clearly defines a smartphone. Samsung had filed the patent in the United Kingdom on the 27th of June 2019 with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office).

Also Read: Building The Ultimate, Stupid Fast SSD RAID Setup: iGyaan Beast PC Build

The tech giants rugged XCover lineup of smartphones are integral to the primary industries. These devices are a necessity due to the variety of features offered, such as communication, even in non-ideal workplaces. Samsung’s new addition to the rugged family will be a welcomed entry in the professional series and more information is expected to be revealed in the arriving weeks.

June 28, 2019
OnePlus Dash Charge Likely To Be Rebranded “Warp Charge”
OnePlus introduced Dash Charge with their smartphone line back in 2016. However, OnePlus is now planning to start from the scratch and rebrand “Dash Charge”. The new name for OnePlus’ fast charging feature could be “Warp Charge”.

OnePlus decided to rebrand the name after it faced a trademark rejection in the EU. There were two main reasons why OnePlus could not own the Dash Charge trademark in the EU. The OnePlus Dash Charge clashed with the name of Bragi’s wireless earphones, “The Dash Pro”. The name also clashed with Amazon’s “Dash Replenishment”.

The trademark for Warp Charge was filed at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The filing comes under the Nice Class 9, which covers:
- Data cables
- power adapters
- cell phone battery chargers
- electrical adapters
- electric batteries
- chargers for electric batteries
- wireless chargers
And since the OnePlus Dash Charge is a name for the company’s charging feature, the trademark falls under the Nice Class 9.

Must Read: Tesla iPhone X Has A Solar Battery And Costs US$ 4590

OnePlus has made a logo for the new “Warp Charge” brand name. The look has the words “Warp Charge” in black colour seemingly warping and getting distorted due to high speeds.

OnePlus Dash Charge Rebranded to Warp Charge

OnePlus already started doing away with the Dash Charge brand by renaming “Dash Charge” to “rapidly charging” when you plug in a OnePlus 6. So it’s evident that there will be a rebranding at some point in time. However, There is no word from the EUIPO on whether the organization will accept the trademark. We will keep an eye out for further updates to see what would be the new name for Dash Charge so stay tuned to iGyaan.
July 17, 2018
Apple Sued By A Japanese Company Which Owns ‘Animoji’ Trademark

Legal battles just doesn’t seem to go away for Apple at the moment. The Tokyo-based company, Emonster, which owns the trademark for “Animoji” in the US, is suing Apple for using the word to name its iPhone X feature. Legal worries continue for Apple with an ongoing legal battle with Qualcomm and recently losing a lawsuit against VirnetX.

Emonster filed the suit on Wednesday in US federal court, saying,

Apple made the conscious decision to try to pilfer the name for itself.

Emonster owns an iOS app called Animoji that was launched in 2014, which lets people send emojis that are animated in a loop like GIFs. The app asks its users to compose the message in the lines of how you would format a line of code in Python or Javascript, with parentheses and brackets that separate the kinds of effects you want to add to text or emoji. The app costs US$0.99 on iTunes.

The iPhone X’s Animoji feature, meanwhile, lets people transform their face into customised moving emoji. This is done using Apple’s face recognition technology. Apple tried to put a “fun and quirky” twist on its new flagship smartphone but, this suit couls cause some troubles to the American tech giant. The lawsuit alleges that because both the Animoji app and the iPhone X feature are on Apple’s platforms, and because both involve motion animation, the court should rule one out.

According to the suit, Apple knew about Emonster’s ownership of the Animoji trademark since the app is in the Apple Store. Apple allegedly offered to buy the trademark, and when that didn’t work out, it kept using the name anyway. Emonster is seeking an undisclosed amount of money in damages and a court order to block Apple from continuing to use the name “Animoji” with immediate effect.

It is reported that Emonster has owned the trademark for Animoji since 2015, Apple filed a petition in September 2017 to cancel the trademark, so the registration is now under review. Apple said that because of a filing error, Emonster registered the trademark to a nonexistent business and therefore can’t actually own the trademark for ‘animoji’.

October 23, 2017
Twitter is Trying to Trademark the Word ‘Subtweet’

Twitter is trying to trademark the word ‘subtweet’ which means a tweet directed at someone without mentioning their Twitter handle typically as a form of mockery or criticism. To put it in pre-social media terms, it would mean to talk about someone behind their back. The trademark was filed on October 30 and was up for opposition on November 19.

The trademark is a commercial mark in that Twitter’s control of the word would exclusively be in commercial settings. So when Twitter gets the word trademarked, no one else can name their new product “Subtweet” or sell things that say “Subtweet” on them.

“When you need to protect your namespace from people who would misuse it. #keepingit,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

What being passive-aggressive on Twitter is like

Words like ‘tweet’, ‘subtweet’ and ‘tweetstorm’ have actually been coined by users referring to a specific Twitter activity. Twitter has tried to trademark a few them in the past but have not always been successful. In fact, Twitter could not trademark ‘tweet’ since the term has been in use for a long time, though now the word has become almost synonymous to Twitter.

If left unopposed, Twitter will gain the right of the word ‘subtweet’ within a few months.

December 5, 2015
Indian Company Sues Apple for the ‘iPhone’ Trademark

The iPhone has been considered one of the most game-changing products in recent history. It truly began the age of smartphones by giving a clear direction for other companies to follow.It is the most prominent smartphone in the market and has brought a great deal of revenue for the Cupertino-based giant; making its name synonymous with Apple’s. Now, in a surprising turn of events, an Indian company is challenging Apple for the trademark of the “iPhone”.

iVoice Ventures, claims that it owns the trademark for ‘iFon’ and hence is going to challenge the patent application of the iPhone in India. The company has filed four cases against granted and pending rights of the iPhone brand name in India.

iVoice said that the company is planning to bring budget smartphones under the name of iFon. They added that Apple’s original challenge to the company’s brand name had caused it “insurmountable challenges and irrevocable losses in ramping business during 2008/2009.” iVoice stated that it wants to revamp their business and for that it is necessary to secure their intellectual property rights for the iFon brand name.

It seems like Apple’s legal trouble refuse to die down. The tech giant was recently ordered to shell out $532.9 Million in a case involving their iTunes app. Apple has been planning a major expansion drive in India and is planning to open 500 retail stores here. It might be an easy battle for Apple as the company has a barrage of lawyers and resources to win such cases or at least, come to an amicable settlement.

March 4, 2015
Microsoft To Rename SkyDrive After Losing Trademark Case

Microsoft has to come up with a new name for Skydrive, its cloud based data storage service.

Skydrive is used by Microsoft users to upload and share content. Unfortunately Microsoft did not give enough consideration to the fact that British Sky Broadcasting might have had a trademark on the word “sky”.

A UK court has ruled that Microsoft has infringed on a trademark owned by British Sky Broadcasting Group with the name “SkyDrive.” Microsoft has reportedly agreed to change the name, and they will not appeal the court’s decision.

A new name will not be given overnight. BSkyB will continue to let Microsoft use the name for a “reasonable period of time” as they try to rename the service. Microsoft has been using the SkyDrive name for their cloud-storage service for around 5 years now. The name has become synonymous with Windows 8, Windows Phone, and all of Microsoft’s new devices. Hopefully this brand change does not disrupt Microsoft’s vision.

There were also some financial and other terms in the agreement, however the details are confidential.

“We’re glad to have resolution of this naming dispute, and will continue to deliver the great service our hundreds of millions of customers expect, providing the best way to always have your files with you,” said Microsoft.

[Via]

July 31, 2013
Report : Apple Applies For iWatch Trademark In Japan

As reported by Bloomberg, Apple recently applied for iWatch name ownership in Japan, a country where devices arrive in stream — and the filing reveals that Apple’s iWatch is categorized as “handheld computer or watch device.

The maker of iPhones is seeking protection for the name which is categorized as being for products including a handheld computer or watch device, according to a June 3 filing with the Japan Patent Office that was made public last week.

Apple has a team of about 100 product designers working on a wristwatch-like device that may perform some of the tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad, two people familiar with the company’s plans said in February.

You may call it a “defensive move” against copycat manufacturers, but it also shows that Apple is looking to introduce its own wearable device to compete with the other big guns.

In May, speaking at an All Things Digital conference, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said the market for wearable computing is ripe for innovation, noting that the wrist was a natural place for such a device.

The Apple iWatch will likely include biometric sensors and applications such as mapping tools and ways to view information that comes via an iPhone or iPad.

As The Verge reports, the company has been known to trademark plausible names for future products, like 2009’s iSlate application, as well as ideas it’s more loosely tied to, such as 1988’s Knowledge Navigator.

Apple’s rivals are already offering their own version of smartwatch, including Sony, a maker of the Android-based devices.

July 1, 2013
Facebook’s Timeline Trademark Lawsuit To Go To Jury Trial

A U.S. District Court Judge has ruled that a lawsuit between Facebook and Timelines.com will in fact go to trial, after denying Facebook’s notion that the trademark-infringement lawsuit should be killed due to overly-generic trademarks, Bloomberg reports.

Timelines, a website to collaboratively record and share history, filed a complaint against Facebook in September, 2011, and sought a restraining order to bar Facebook from offering its Timeline service, but this was denied, according to records of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

The company was set up in January, 2007 and launched its Timelines.com website in 2009. It owns U.S. federal trademark registration numbers for “Timelines,” “Timelines.com” and for its “Timelines” design mark, according to court papers. It also operates a website called LifeSnapz.com and other services.

Facebook filed for a summary judgment on each of the claims of the plaintiff and on its own counterclaims, including cancellation of Timelines’ registered marks, which was refused by the judge on Monday.

Facebook “has failed to demonstrate, as a matter of law, that the marks are generic,” U.S. District Judge John W. Darrah in Chicago wrote in a ruling today. “At this stage in the proceedings, it is not unreasonable to conclude that as to this group of users, ‘timeline(s)’ has acquired a specific meaning associated with plaintiff.”

The judge said Timelines had millions of dollars invested in its business and more than a thousand active users.

The case is now set to proceed to trial before a jury on April 22.

[Bloomberg]

April 2, 2013
Apple Suffers Setback In iPhone Trademark Apple In Mexico

Apple’s appeal to overturn a previous ruling against its sole ownership of the “iPhone” trademark in Mexico was rebuffed on Friday, with the Mexican Supreme Court saying a local tech company holds the official rights to the “iFone” name in the country.

In a case of David vs. Goliath, the Mexican Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that iFone, a small IT company in Mexico City, is the rightful owner of the iPhone name in that country.

The company registered the name in 2003, four years before Apple rolled out the smartphone it dubbed the iPhone, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The case goes back to 2009, when Apple tried to register the phone brand name in Mexico and the Mexican Industrial Property Institute said it was already taken. Apple tried to take the name by suing, arguing that it had expired for iFone, but a federal court disagreed.

Ifone, based in Mexico City, specializes in server-based telecommunications systems, such as software that controls IP telephony, and is the local representative for software-based communications solutions provider AltiGen Communications Inc.

The ruling marks another setback for Apple in Latin America. A month ago, Brazilian authorities rejected Apple’s attempts to register the iPhone name because Brazilian electronics maker IGB Eletronica SA, better known by its brand name Gradiente, already owned rights to the name.

Last year Apple fought with Chinese company Proview over the rights to the iPad trademark in the country. That dispute, which threatened sales of the popular tablet, was settled last July for $60 million.

[Via LA Times]

March 16, 2013
Sony’s New Cloud Service To Be Called “MyXperia”?

Sony’s $1,47 billion acquisition of the remaining 50% stake in their Sony Ericsson joint venture closed in January of this year. The mobile division is called “Sony Mobile Communications” and they are focussed bringing the latest smartphones to market. The other key areas for Sony – that fall under the “One Sony” umbrella – are laptops, tablets and televisions.

It seems, just like so many other manufacturers, Sony is heading into the cloud and might possibly launch a storage service. According to a recent European trademark filing Sony has coined the term “MyXperia,” hinting at a future, but unconfirmed, cloud service or app. The description says:

“Computer application software and downloadable software in the nature of mobile applications for use in connection with virtual computer systems and virtual computing environments for upload, storage, retrieval, download, transmission and delivery of digital content and media to and from the following: mobile phones; smart phones; digital or electronic tablets for the recording, transmission, processing and reproduction of sound, images or data; personal digital assistants (PDAs); and/or portable and handheld digital electronic devices for the recording, transmission, processing and reproduction of sound, images or data.”

The domain for MyXperia.com has already been secured by Sony and the basic website is already up and running. We’ll see soon enough whether something (big or small) will come out of the “MyXperia” filing.

October 23, 2012
Microsoft to drop ‘Metro’ name for Windows 8

A potential trademark dispute has forced Microsoft to drop the Metro name for Windows 8’s blocky, tile-based interface.

Talks with an “important European partner” have brought about the change according to internal memos seen by tech news site The Verge.

The partner is believed to be German retail giant Metro AG.

Microsoft is currently working out what to call the interface and said the new name would be announced soon.

The tiled interface is used on both Windows 8 and Windows Phone and has been called “Metro” ever since Microsoft started showing off its designs for the software.

Elements of it have also been used on older products such as the Zune media player.

In documents sent out to developers and media months ago, Microsoft said Metro was the “code name for our design language”.

It added that Metro was picked because the name was “modern and clean. It’s fast and in motion”.

Now documents sent out to developers are warning coders to avoid using the word when referring to the distinctive interface.

The warning is believed to follow on from an internal memo sent by Microsoft’s Legal and Corporate Affairs department which said the company had been threatened with legal action over its use of the name.

The threat is believed to have been made by German retailer Metro AG, which owns trademarks on the word. Metro AG declined to comment on the claim.

Instead of Metro, Microsoft has told developers to simply refer to the blocky display as a “Windows 8 style UI” for the time being.

[quote]

In a statement, Microsoft said: “We have used Metro style as a code name during the product development cycle across many of our product lines.

“As we get closer to launch and transition from industry dialogue to a broad consumer dialogue we will use our commercial names,” it said.

[/quote]

Source : BBC

August 4, 2012
Proview sued by its iPad Case Law Firm, 2.4 million owed

Proview the company that sued Apple for the iPad trademark in China has been sued by its very own legal firm for the non payment of its legal fees for the said case. According to Sina Tech, Grandall Law Firm confirmed that its shady client refused to pay up the promised 4 percent of Apple’s settlement fee, which equates to $2.4 million.

Proview founder Yang Rongshan told Sina Tech that Grandall’s behavior is “nonsense,” and that his company isn’t obliged to pay back immediately as it isn’t under normal operation right now.

July 23, 2012
Apple Pays USD 60M for iPad Trademark in China

Apple has agreed to pay US$60 million for ownership of the iPad trademark in China, as part of a settlement with a little-known Chinese firm called Proview that had tried to ban sales of the tablet in the country, according to a local court.

The Guangdong Province Higher People’s Court announced the settlement on Monday, and stated that the legal dispute had been put to rest. Following the payment to Proview, Chinese authorities transferred the “IPAD” trademark to Apple.

The two companies have been locked in a legal dispute to determine ownership of the iPad trademark, with Apple claiming to have bought the iPad trademarks for China from Proview in 2009.

The Guangdong court was originally expected to rule on the case. But Apple and Proview were in recent months in talks to settle the dispute, at the initiative of the court.

Proview had wanted as much as $400 million in settlement from Apple in order to help clear its debts. Eight banks have taken over Proview’s assets and are owed $180 million.

Li Su, the head of the consultancy representing the eight banks, said Apple initially wanted to pay only a few million dollars for the iPad trademark. But over time, Apple negotiated in good faith, realizing the dispute would linger in Chinese courts unless a settlement was reached, he added.

Su said he did not know how the $60 million received from Apple would be spent.

July 2, 2012