Getting some media-hype is a part of the business and they are not wrong by doing so considering they have the brand since 2000 they can use at their discretion actually.
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Firm Launches 'IPHONE' Brand of Android Phones, Touts Trademark Ownership in Brazil
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Getting some media-hype is a part of the business and they are not wrong by doing so considering they have the brand since 2000 they can use at their discretion actually.
There's a big difference between this and the Proview issue.
Proview actually released a product under the "Ipad" name. Granted, it was a computer monitor, but it was a physical product that was sold to consumers. Apple was right to offer money to use the name, regardless of the outrageous fee Proview initially requested from Apple. IGB says they own the trademark and INTEND on releasing a product.
I'm no lawyer, but there's got to be some kind of "Squatter's Rights" law wherein IGB can't sue Apple now as the iPhone has been out for x number of years and IGB has done nothing to enforce their trademark until now.
Proview actually released a product under the "Ipad" name. Granted, it was a computer monitor, but it was a physical product that was sold to consumers. Apple was right to offer money to use the name, regardless of the outrageous fee Proview initially requested from Apple. IGB says they own the trademark and INTEND on releasing a product.
I'm no lawyer, but there's got to be some kind of "Squatter's Rights" law wherein IGB can't sue Apple now as the iPhone has been out for x number of years and IGB has done nothing to enforce their trademark until now.
It was Cisco that owned Linksys at the time. And by "wormed their way out" you mean Apple settled with Cisco for the rights in a mutually agreeable fashion, correct? If yo don't believe me search GOOGLE for "Apple settles with Cisco for iPhone name"
You use phrases like "wormed their way out" and "like the rats they are", and you have the nerve to call people iSheep? Try harder next time, kid.
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You are thinking of trademark dilution where you can lose exclusive rights to your trademark if you don't protect it. In order to keep exlucsive rights to the iPhone name in Brazil, they'd have to prove to the courts that they didn't know about Apple using the iPhone name. This is highly unlikely.
But this doesn't mean that IGB can't continue to use the name. It means they both can, but Apple doesn't have to pay damages to IGB.
But the most likely outcome is Apple will pay IGB a bunch of money for the exclusive use of the name. I'm certain this was IGB's plan all along.
care to elaborate on your "security flaws" of Android? you sound very smart. i think you should join pwn2own contest. earn some fame and money.
regarding android experience, a big LOL. in what ways it's "worst"? can u give some specific examples?
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it's only messy IF you/user makes it messy.. on an Android phone you can have:
NO icons on screen - empty
few icons on screen - clean
NO widgets on screen
icon/widget combo
...
....
the list goes on. YOU decide how your phone looks like. so you and I could have same handset model yet both will be very personalized to suit our needs. it isn't ios like where everyones phones are same! quite literally.
I really don't see how some with even a quarter of a brain would choose this device thinking that it is an actual iPhone.
Also, why in the world would they launch a device with Android 2.3 when we are already at 4.2? Gingerbread is the equivalent to using XP at this point in time.
Sir, I just started a slow clap in my office after reading this.
You intelligently countered each and every point that came up with facts and not opinion. This doesn't happen too often. I applaud you.
Also, why in the world would they launch a device with Android 2.3 when we are already at 4.2? Gingerbread is the equivalent to using XP at this point in time.
Sir, I just started a slow clap in my office after reading this.
You intelligently countered each and every point that came up with facts and not opinion. This doesn't happen too often. I applaud you.
Bribing implies paying someone to do something illegal or dishonest. There's nothing dishonest or illegal about paying for the use of or acquiring a trademark. There's no "worming out" here. You are just putting negative spin on it because you don't like Apple.
Ridiculous. You can't even see your own ignorance. America is your bad guy, and you have no desire for that to change. Bad America, the world is poor because America took all the money. Boo hoo for us.
I never said America was saving anything! Thats just the attitude you want me to have so it confirms to your ignorance about America. We just happened to be talking about an AMERICAN company! I understand that Apple doesn't hold the trademark for IPHONE in Brazil, duh, why else would we be having the conversation? And again, you are putting words in my mouth when you say I think Apple should ignore the local laws. LOL Why do you think I mentioned going to the Brazilian government and letting them handle it? The point YOU are missing is that people buy up trademarks (in every country - not just Brazil - since you seem to be uber sensitive) and then do nothing with them. Then when a company (from any where in the world) that "creates" (products, jobs, money) comes along these snakes jump out and make them pay because 20 years ago they bought up a bunch of words and trademarked them for no reason other then to hopefully some day, fleece a legitimate company in court. I said the same thing about Proview in China, and the same thing about the company that held the iPhone trademark in Mexico. Screw them. Don't play their game. Of course money is king, so they will do the math and if it makes sense to pay them off they will, but I PERSONALLY don't like it. Hence why I posted.
AND I DIDN'T INSERT TWO RANDOM COMPANIES BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT APPLE IN BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!
iPad in China was worse... It was China vs Taiwan. That politics has been just shy of a shooting war for 50 years. There was no way a court in China was going to uphold a sale of that magnitude made in Taiwan. Also, Proview had previously manufactured and SOLD a line of items "recently" with the trademark.. More recently that this Brazil trademark was granted. Proview was trying to "claw back" on an international technicality... Ultimately, they lost horribly as the Chinese court only gave them Millions... They needed BILLIONS just to pay creditors.
This issue in Brazil is just a grab. It might hold in Brazilian Courts... Rooting for the home team and all... But the WTO would shut these guys down if one phone got sold OUTSIDE Brazil. They held the mark for 12 years and never USED it till Apple was close to opening shop. They will lose... But Apple might shell out some money to speed things along.
Fair enough. Seems like there's something wrong with the legal system if people can even start court cases against companies using their own trademarks though
Yes and no, sometimes it's fair to fight in court for something that should not have been trademarked. Not saying this is case for this one though...
Read the article please, they had the trademark since 2000. Apple did not invent the word 'iPhone' in Brazil.
For non-brazilians:
Gradiente is a brazilian company founded in 1964.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradiente
Some years ago, they came in bankruptcy mainly (in my view) because their business carried a mentality from the dictatorship years, when importing was very restricted by the nationalist government. In the 90's, brazilian market was opened to importing so Gradiente couldn't compete with cheaper products from China, Taiwan, etc.
Gradiente sometimes looked very professional (I had a dual cassette tape deck from the mid-90s which I used a lot for home recordings). Sometimes, it looked cheap like chinese counterfeit electronics. In general, Gradiente products were pretty decent until the mid-90s, sometimes being as expensive as Panasonic, Sharp and Philips (but not Sony) but in the 2000's looks like they lost most of their innovative appeal (maybe they had to fire a lot of key people from their R&D department).
I hope this new line of Gradiente "iphones" won't be more of legally imported low-cost rebranded phones for tax exemptions. But I doubt that.
Apple iPhone and Gradiente iphone can both live pacifically in Brazil. One is clearly top-notch, state-of-the-art; the other, a cheap Android phone which most of its buyers coundn't even dream buying the Apple's one. So, there is no conflict. This iphone is competitor of inexpensive chinese Android phones.
Gradiente is a brazilian company founded in 1964.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradiente
Some years ago, they came in bankruptcy mainly (in my view) because their business carried a mentality from the dictatorship years, when importing was very restricted by the nationalist government. In the 90's, brazilian market was opened to importing so Gradiente couldn't compete with cheaper products from China, Taiwan, etc.
Gradiente sometimes looked very professional (I had a dual cassette tape deck from the mid-90s which I used a lot for home recordings). Sometimes, it looked cheap like chinese counterfeit electronics. In general, Gradiente products were pretty decent until the mid-90s, sometimes being as expensive as Panasonic, Sharp and Philips (but not Sony) but in the 2000's looks like they lost most of their innovative appeal (maybe they had to fire a lot of key people from their R&D department).
I hope this new line of Gradiente "iphones" won't be more of legally imported low-cost rebranded phones for tax exemptions. But I doubt that.
Apple iPhone and Gradiente iphone can both live pacifically in Brazil. One is clearly top-notch, state-of-the-art; the other, a cheap Android phone which most of its buyers coundn't even dream buying the Apple's one. So, there is no conflict. This iphone is competitor of inexpensive chinese Android phones.
At least in Brazil, they are. Also, looks like Gradiente is emerging from a long-time concordat, so Apple lawyers couldn't argue they didn't use the brand because probably they were unable to launch any new product over the last years.
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Come on, iPhone is a very simple brand name. There are thousands of cases like this around the world. It's like registering a brand like "eCommerce" or "Web Technology". You're doing cheap patriotism. Now, go vote Bush and launch a war against Brazil.
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Reorganization = closed. I don't remember ANY Gradiente product by the last six or seven years.
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For all the Brazilians defending this dick move, Messi is already better than Pele ever was!
How many world cups Messi won?
Hey, what would you say if a company copied some of Apple patents in its own operating system?
Now, what are you saying from a company which is trying to use its own brand, at least under brazilian territorial boundaries?
So you're saying that this company's use of their iPhone trademark in the year 2012 has nothing to do with Apple's iPhone. Is that what you're saying?
No, I don't. But does it matter? It owns the trademark just like Apple owns a bunch of unused trademarks. Also, although Gradiente claimed the iphone trademark in 2000, INPI (the brazilian institute of industrial property) only approved the exclusive ownership of the trademark in 2008.
On the other hand, I agree that most trademarks and intellectual property are ways of getting easy money from companies really interested in innovation.
Google translation from brazilian news:
"Gradiente did not use the iPhone brand yet because his priority was to promote the restructuring of its operations and allow the resumption of their business" - said one of the company's president.
Source: http://www.em.com.br/app/noticia/ec...ais-de-13-em-2-dias-no-embalo-do-iphone.shtml
Not really. As I mentioned early in this thread, I think Apple should just ignore this desperate bid for attention and let the product implode on its own.
Of course a good person like you would give it to Apple for free. Right?
And if a good person like would go up to Apple and ask them to use i.e. their registered name 'Newton' Apple would say - "Sure, just use as you please for free".
Quite a silly comment, Pele played football in the 70's - Messi now. Football is a totally different game now. And how does that relate to the iPhone anyway?
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the point is that apple has enough money that it shouldnt care to secure such assets. that other company is doing the right thing if apple didn't want to pay them off. it's their property.
Right, because no one there has ever heard of "iPhone" before since it's only sold insane amounts of volume and has been out since 2007.
Yes. Exactly.
Opportunistically exploiting others IP and brand awareness. It's always cheaper and easier to steal than make something yourself.
chill guys
I play with every OS I can get my hands on have a old droidx just to throw different OS and roms at bricked it more times than I can count but you can make it what you want use it mainly as a media remote for my tv right now its running a basic miui rom also messing with raspberrypi to see what I can make it do not much yet just cool for the money. Got umbuntu on one laptop not my fave. Like IOS for simplicity very functional IOS fans can be a bit like religious fanatics though will not even touch something else.
I play with every OS I can get my hands on have a old droidx just to throw different OS and roms at bricked it more times than I can count but you can make it what you want use it mainly as a media remote for my tv right now its running a basic miui rom also messing with raspberrypi to see what I can make it do not much yet just cool for the money. Got umbuntu on one laptop not my fave. Like IOS for simplicity very functional IOS fans can be a bit like religious fanatics though will not even touch something else.