Apple Loses Court Battle Over iPhone Name In Mexico

It’s no secret that Apple wasn’t the first kid on the block to think up the name “iPhone”. Years before the iconic smartphone made its debut, there was an internet appliance called the iPhone, which was subsequently acquired by Cisco. Apple ended up getting in a lawsuit with Cisco over the rights to the name, but the dispute was ultimately settled. More recently, Apple’s been fighting another battle over the iPhone name, now in Mexico, only this time the court has ruled against Apple, denying it the rights to sell its smartphone as the iPhone.

The problem is that Mexico has a telecom company called iFone that’s been operating under that name since before Apple came up with the iPhone. Despite being late to the party, Apple tried to sue iFone to force it to abandon the name. There have been years of legal volleying since, but the latest rulings make it clear that things aren’t working out in Apple’s favor.

Reportedly, Apple was denied a motion that would have let it continue to keep selling the iPhone with that name. If it wants to sell its hardware in Mexico, it may have to come up with some new branding. That could be something as simple as the “Apple Phone”, but whatever the company ends up doing, we can’t imagine it’s very happy about the way this has all played out.

Source : pocketnow