Mexico to Apple: You WILL NOT use the name 'iPhone' here
We don' need no stinkin' badge lawsuits
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Apple has lost the right to use the word "iPhone" in Mexico after its trademark lawsuit against Mexican telco iFone backfired.
Judges sitting in Mexico's 18th District Appellate Court have ruled that iFone is the only company allowed to use the "iPhone" or "iFone" brands in the North American country.
The decision marks the end of a three-year trademark battle launched by Apple in 2009. It was an unwise move. iFone registered its trademark in 2003, Apple registered iPhone in 2007. Unable to argue that iFone was too similar to iPhone, Apple lost its lawsuit. iFone then countersued and won. Apple appealed last week and was rebuffed by the court, according to newspaper El Universal.
As a result Apple lost the right to trade using the iPhone brand, and the ruling could be applied retroactively: iFone may be able to claim a cut of the profits Apple has made using the iPhone name in Mexico since it launched five years ago.
iFone's lawyer Eduardo Gallástegui told the Mexican newspaper that the next stage of the legal process will involve cheques from Apple. Here's a rough translation:
All that remains is processing claims for invasion of brand. Additionally, they face a sanction of up to 20,000 days at minimum wage rate, and iFone shall be entitled to claim compensation for damage caused by the invasion of their brand. These damages may not be less than 40 per cent of the sales of iPhone services in Mexico, as provided by law.
Presumably Apple is going to have to reach deep into itds record-breaking profits to smooth this one over. And after this ruling, it will have few cards to play when brokering a deal with iFone to licence the trademark in future. It's not great timing, with the iPhone 5 due to arrive in Mexico later today.
Coming within a week of Apple's humiliating public apology in UK over a patent lawsuit that it lost, Apple's habit of launching aggressive lawsuits is starting to bite it on the bum. ®
COMMENTS
Re: Hahaha
<- Troll icon goes here
I'm guessing the thought process in the collective Apple brain went as follows:
- We're American therefore their laws mean nothing to us and we're going to do whatever we like
- It's okay to steal IP as long as we're the ones doing it because we're cool
- There is never any comeback when we acts like a bunch of powercrazed bullying ar*eholes because everyone gets too distracted by the shint-shiny to notice we're doing it (until we do it to them) so why should there be any this time around?
Hahaha
Now there's justice, both poetic and actual. What on earth did Apple think was going to happen when they launched this lawsuit?
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