Apple Set to Lose iPhone Trademark in Brazil

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.

Reuters reported that the Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property is set to award an exclusive iPhone name trademark to the Brazil-based electronics firm, Gradiente, next week.

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.

Contact Us for News Tips, Corrections and Feedback

TOPICS
Latest in iPhone
iPhone 16's demonstration of the battery removal process by debonding the adhesive using a 9V Battery
iPhone 16 battery needs a good zapping to debond the adhesive — the process takes a minute and a half when using a 9V battery
Apple A18
Apple's A18 and A18 Pro processors powers the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro — and Apple Intelligence
UTM SE emulates Windows and DOS on iPhone
First PC emulator arrives on iOS App Store, delivers i486 or PowerPC fun on your iPhone, iPad or Vision Pro
A portion of the tools recovered in a recent stolen tools case in Howard County, Maryland
$5 million worth of stolen tools recovered thanks to Apple's AirTag — 12 secret storage facilities had around 15,000 construction tools
CCTV of iPhone 14 theft
Thief Chews Through Anti-Theft Cable After iPhone 14 Plus Sticker Shock
Latest in News
RX 9070 XT Sapphire
Lisa Su says Radeon RX 9070-series GPU sales are 10X higher than its predecessors — for the first week of availability
RTX 5070, RX 9070 XT, Arc B580
Real-world GPU prices cost up to twice the MSRP — a look at current FPS per dollar values
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 AMP Extreme Infinity
Zotac raises RTX 5090 prices by 20% and seemingly eliminates MSRP models
ASRock fixes AM5 motherboard by cleaning it
ASRock claims to fix 'burned out' AM5 motherboard by cleaning the socket
ChatGPT Security
Some ChatGPT users are addicted and will suffer withdrawal symptoms if cut off, say researchers
project-g-assist-nvidia-geforce-rtx-ogimage
Nvidia releases public G-Assist in latest App to provide in-game AI assistance — also introduces DLSS custom scaling factors
  • house70
    ^ Apple troll spotted.

    OTOH, since they're named iPhones, they might not stray too far from the garbage-y trend set by the other iPhone. You might be on to something here.
    Reply
  • house70
    Looks like someone is going to shake a bit the apple tree. LOL
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    I guess the apple...

    got soured...

    YEAAHHH!!!
    Reply
  • iHappy
    Reply
  • Mousemonkey
    iSmiled.
    Reply
  • wannabepro
    iRage
    Reply
  • rad666
    iLaughed.
    Reply
  • iPleased
    Reply
  • ricardok
    For those that down voted the 1st comment, it's true..
    Gradiente is releasing a really awful Android device (really low end with 50% markup comparing to same specs androids).
    So check your facts before down voting someone.

    http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/18/new-iphone-launches-in-brazil/
    Dual-SIM
    Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread.
    3.7-inch, 320 x 480 display
    700MHz CPU, 2GB of expandable storage
    Bluetooth
    3G
    WiFi
    5 / 0.3-megapixel cameras
    Reply
  • fuzzion
    iLike
    Reply