The most noticeable similarity between Apple’s iconic iPhone and Android-powered iphone made by a Brazilian company is the name.
Even that is not exactly the same because the smartphone made by São Paulo-based Gradiente Eletronica contains a lower case “p” – iphone.
However whether an iPhone or an iphone, regulators in Brazil have ruled that Apple does not have exclusive rights to use the “iPhone” trademark in the country.
The Brazilian firm registered the name iphone in 2000 and while Apple can continue to market and sell its iPhones in Brazil it is appealing the decision.
As it stands Gradiente could now sue Apple and ask the court that it should have exclusivity for the iphone name in South America’s biggest market.
The Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) told the BBC that its decision only applied to handsets, and that the California-based company continued to have exclusive rights to use the iPhone name elsewhere including on clothing, in software and across publications.
INPI said Apple had argued that it should have been given full rights since Gradiente had not released a product using the iphone name until December 2012.
The Brazilian company now sells its Android-powered iphone Neo One for 599 reals ($304).
Picture shows iphone Neo One – © Gradiente Electronica
Via: BBC