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Apple Faces Trademark Battle to Use 'Vision Pro' Name in China

Rather than spend money, Apple would probably tell Huawei that in exchange for using the name 'Vision Pro', Apple will attempt to communicate with the US government in dropping some of it's restrictions against Huawei.

Or Huawei will ask Apple that in exchange for using the name 'Vision Pro', they are to get the US government to drop restrictions against them.
 
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“The payment followed several court cases in which Apple unsuccessfully argued that it had already acquired the rights for the name as part of a deal with Proview's Taiwanese arm.” Wow. They're all “One China” until it affects their ability to extract cash from the West.
 
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Perhaps they could actually give it a real product name, instead of lazily tacking a meaningless “Pro“ on the end of one of the things it does. Is it vision for professionals? Or professional vision? Calling this thing “Vision Pro” is like naming the AirPods “Audio Pro”, or the iPad “Big Touchy Pro”.

…if they’re going to do that, I get that everyone got sick of seeing “i”’s stuck to the front of everything under the sun, but since Apple’s pared it down to a few main hardware products now with iMac, iPhone, & iPad, this seems like since it’s its own standalone computer & product category, it would fit right alongside those as iSight. It’s not like you can’t repurpose brand names for bigger & better things, & the hordes of people who really love the branding of their internal webcam components would probably get over it.
 
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MacRumors said:


Apple may be forced to change the name of its new mixed reality headset in China unless it can come to an agreement with Huawei, which already owns the "Vision Pro" trademark in the country.

Apple-Vision-Pro-at-Steve-Jobs-Theater.jpeg

Originally spotted by MyDrivers, the trademark was originally granted to Huawei on May 16, 2019, and gives the company exclusive rights to its use in China from November 28, 2021 to November 27, 2031.

Huawei actively uses the trademark in China, and offers a number of products under the Vision name, including smart TVs and smart glasses. If Apple intends to sell its headset in China and call it Vision Pro, it may have to enter into negotiations with Huawei to release the trademark for a price.

It would not be the first time Apple has had to pay a Chinese company to use a product name. Apple in 2012 paid Proview Technology $60 million for the rights to the "iPad" trademark in China. The payment followed several court cases in which Apple unsuccessfully argued that it had already acquired the rights for the name as part of a deal with Proview's Taiwanese arm.

vision-pro-trademark-china-huawei.jpg

Huawei "Vision Pro" trademark documents (Source: MyDrivers)​

Apple has said it plans to launch the Vision Pro headset in the United States early next year, with the product set to become available in "more countries" later in 2023.

Article Link: Apple Faces Trademark Battle to Use 'Vision Pro' Name in China
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I did predict the goggles being called "Apple View". Of course, if they just pay $10000 then I may be inclined to give it to them... ;3
 
Zest28 said:
If you are a fan of someone, will you let him borrow your wife / girlfriend?
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No, but they can borrow my name anytime.
darngooddesign said:
Classic Apple. LOL
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How exactly? Apple can call this anything in the dictionary and it is guarantee there would be some company who have filed trademark on the name, especially when roumers of this device have been circulating for nearly a decade and let's be honest, the name they have chosen for it was not hard at all to guess,
 
JetForMe said:
“The payment followed several court cases in which Apple unsuccessfully argued that it had already acquired the rights for the name as part of a deal with Proview's Taiwanese arm.” Wow. They're all “One China” until it affects their ability to extract cash from the West.
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You know mainland China and Taiwan are techically still kinda at war since 1949 when the CCP never managed to take control of Taiwan, and there's a big ongoing threat China may invade Taiwan at some point, right? Or was the "one China" comment so highly satirical that I failed to spot the sarcasm?
 
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matrix07 said:
In a heartbeat if we’re talking about swapping. 🙂
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My girlfriend maybe. My wife never. When it comes to marriage I‘m a hopeless romantic. 😉

laptech said:
Rather than spend money, Apple would probably tell Huawei that in exchange for using the name 'Vision Pro', Apple will attempt to communicate with the US government in dropping some of it's restrictions against Huawei.

Or Huawei will ask Apple that in exchange for using the name 'Vision Pro', they are to get the US government to drop restrictions against them.
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Must not insert political satire… 🤐 😆

But that’s a good thought. Wouldn’t surprise me if they worked out some type of procurement agreement. “You let us use this name and we’ll purchase X technology/components from you.”
 
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Piplodocus said:
You know mainland China and Taiwan are techically still kinda at war since 1949 when the CCP never managed to take control of Taiwan, and there's a big ongoing threat China may invade Taiwan at some point, right? Or was the "one China" comment so highly satirical that I failed to spot the sarcasm?
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I believe it was a comment about self interest. Basically the harshest of enemies become allies when there's some money in it. See countless posts about Apple v. Sam(e)sung but then other posts of how Apple and "Samsung are partnering on..." or "Apple has awarded the <whatever> to Samsung."

Ironically, we "die, Samsung die!" observers then spin that conundrum as "different parts of Samsung. The parts with which Apple chooses to do business are good Samsung. The rest should "die, Samsung die!"... UNLESS Apple would choose any of the other parts for something and then they shift over to the good Samsung group too. ;)

By the end of this thread, the name rights holder will be branded a "troll" with arguments they should just give Apple the name because <reasons, including irrational reasons>. Of course, if it was the OTHER way and that company was wanting to use an Apple trademarked name and just did so... :eek:
 
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ThunderSkunk said:
Perhaps they could actually give it a real product name, instead of lazily tacking a meaningless “Pro“ on the end of one of the things it does. Is it vision for professionals? Or professional vision? Calling this thing “Vision Pro” is like naming the AirPods “Audio Pro”, or the iPad “Big Touchy Pro”.

Though I get that everyone got sick of seeing “i”’s stuck to the front of everything under the sun, since Apple’s pared it down to a few main hardware products now, there’s an iMac, an iPhone, an iPad, and this seems like since this is its own standalone computer & product category, it would fit listed alongside those as iSight. It’s not like you can’t repurpose brand names for bigger & better things.
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The issue with the lower case i was that it stood for “Internet.” The first iMac ads focused on how easy it was to connect to the internet compared to other PCs back then.

Apple has moved on from needing to promote internet connectivity in the product name, and Apple Watch sounds better to me than iWatch.

I think part of the Apple Vision Pro name is Apple stating this is their vision for the future of computing, communication, and entertainment.
 
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gpat said:
It's kinda absurd that Apple didn't check on this beforehand.
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That's one assumption.

Another assumption one might make from this is that Apple is more concerned about getting the name right and then negotiating the naming rights for an acceptable price with its owner. Apple just about have the deepest pockets in the world, they can choose to not compromise on the name they want.
 
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