Apple is expected to lose its rights to use the iPhone name in Brazil due to a forthcoming decision from a patent and trademark office.
Gradiente had originally filed for the naming rights to the iPhone in 2000, seven years before Apple's flagship device launched. However, it only recently launched a slate of Android-powered smartphones under the "iPhone" moniker. Gradiente stressed that it had secured the legal rights to the name until 2018.
Back in 2007, months before the iPhone's release, Apple faced a legal battle with Cisco Systems over the naming rights to the "iPhone" in the United States. The latter said it contacted Apple regarding the name on multiple occasions; it even went as far as utilizing a shell company to attempt to acquire the moniker. Ultimately, though, the two firms settled during February of that year.
