iPad Trademark Name May Belong To Fujitsu

Forum Moderators: travelin cat

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iPad Trademark Name May Belong To Fujitsu

engine

12:18 pm on Jan 29, 2010 (gmt 0)

iPad Trademark Name May Belong To Fujitsu [online.wsj.com]

Computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. on Wednesday said it believes it has U.S. trademark rights to the name of its device, which is used by retail-store employees to track inventory and sales. Though smaller than Apple's tablet, Fujitsu's iPAD has a touchscreen and wireless Internet access. Fujitsu said in a statement on Thursday that it is discussing "the possible infringement on our trademark" with lawyers and had no further comment. A spokesman for Apple declined to comment.

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travelin cat

4:09 pm on Jan 29, 2010 (gmt 0)

Apple will most likely use the same argument they used against Cisco for the iPhone name, basically they will argue that the name was under utilized and therefore can not be protected.

If it worked once, it will work again, after all, how many people actually heard of the Fujitsu iPAD?

Sierra_Dad

9:41 pm on Jan 29, 2010 (gmt 0)

Is it "underutilized" if Fujitsu has had a product with that name since 2002?

There are 22 US trademarks registered for IPad, but only Fujitsu's seems similar enough to have a case.

"HAND-HELD COMPUTING DEVICE FOR WIRELESS NETWORKING IN A RETAIL ENVIRONMENT"

I think Fujitsu could have a case, but it's not going to change the name. Apple will countersue claiming that Ipad is too similar to iPod anyway, and they'll settle.

Harry

4:16 am on Feb 23, 2010 (gmt 0)

If Apple argues that the iPod is too similar than the iPad, then it opens the door for a third company - don't recall their name to then sue Apple because they had the trade-mark for a handheld device used in stores before Futjisu.

tangor

6:40 am on Feb 23, 2010 (gmt 0)

I wonder at which point folks will get tired of "i" anything, ie. something to do with "i"nternet, whether product, service, or provider? At some future time I can foresee a court saying enough is enough... putting an "i" in front of a word is not sufficient for trademark (kidding!) After all I have a few coming soon:

iFrog ... program that jumps from sub to gosub
iDog ... service that eats memory resources
iRat ... protocol that reports employee computer use to management
iBlimp ... app that is so utterly bloated all work ceases
iWhimp ... protocol for really lowband walkie talkies
iPunt ... AI decision tree (my favorite) which looks suspiciously like a magic 8 ball...

creative craig

7:14 am on Feb 23, 2010 (gmt 0)

I'll take 3 IPunt's..

tangor

7:26 am on Feb 23, 2010 (gmt 0)

When I get iBuy up and running I'll put you down for iFew.

tangor

7:31 am on Feb 23, 2010 (gmt 0)

Didn't mean to hijack this thread with iHumor... but iFun is necessary from time to time. Please remember me when you release these iGags to the wild because I have no doubt they will be iShared wherever there's an iMac (tm). And modghods of this forum, it might be fun to actively collect some more... nothing is more iFun than to iPoke one's own interests.