Apple loses injunction bid in Mexico against iFone brand

Apple’s injunction bid in Mexico against iFone, a local brand, has brought it defeat, after a court found the name iPhone to be “too phonetically similar to iFone”, reports Electronista. An update to the article, however, affirms that while the ruling will not prevent Apple from selling its iPhone branded products in Mexico, it will allow the company owning the iFone brand to continue using the name. Reportedly, it was in 2009 that the Cupertino-based company had filed for a request, seeking the discontinuation of the iFone brand to avoid any instances of having buyers confused over similar sounding names. In its last Thursday’s ruling, however, a Mexico City court denied Apple’s injunction request. 

The iFone brand in Mexico, it has been known had been registered four years before Apple filed for the iPhone brand. However, Apple continued to work towards getting “sole control over the brand in the year after the iPhone first launched in Mexico”, albeit unsuccessfully. 

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Apple had sought the discontinuation of iFone in 2009

Apple’s battle in Mexico over its iPhone brand name isn’t its first.  Proview Technologies took Apple Inc to court when the former claimed that it was the rightful owner of the trademark name ‘iPad’ in China. Proview claimed that Apple was violating its trademark by selling its tablet computers in the country. Apple stated that it had acquired the global rights for the trademark name ‘iPad’. Hence, it was the rightful owner of the term in China too. On this premise, a large scale patent lawsuit boiled over in China, wherein the sales of Apple’s popular tablet computer, iPad, were halted following a temporary impoundment order by Proview Technologies. China is one of Apple’s crucial markets, and with the sales of the tablet coming to a near-halt in the country, the picture began turning bleak. Not only is China one of the biggest markets for Apple products, it is also the place where half of Apple products are made. Now, according to reports, both companies have agreed to discuss the possibility of an out-of-court settlement.  

Apple’s latest iPhone, the iPhone 5, was launched officially in India, only a couple of days ago. Here in India, the iPhone 5 has sold out across official resellers, and those looking to get their hands on the device will have to wait for at least three weeks. 

Those trying to get their hands on the handset can buy it through the grey market at the same cost as the official channels, but potential buyers would also need to wait. The wait, however, is not as long, and they can get it within a day or two of placing the order.

Elsewhere in the world the iPhone 5 is flying off the shelves, and has already broken sales records, the most recent one being that it notched up 5 million sales in its opening weekend. As per a report by Kitguru, the iPhone 5 will top the 40 million mark in terms of the number of units shipped by the fourth quarter of 2012.