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Apple Sued Over 'Animoji' Trademark
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And for that, I’m out.
**** it, I'm in this game then.
I present to you. Gifs. The proper way to communicate. GifAnimoji TM.
That translates to "don't force your kiss onto a monkey."
It's a complicated language now, but once you get the rules down, you'll be typing out gifanimojis faster than you can say:<animji or emoji>
I'm looking for partners. It will be $10 million for a 2% stake in my company.
Good I hope the notch design never sees the light of day.
As was stated un y he article, he was approached by companies to buy his trademark, but he refused them. He didn’t know it was Apple until the announcement. That matches the accounts of others who have been bought by Apple.
This sounds familiar.
Apple did the same thing with both iPhone and iPad and iOS.
Cisco owned trademarks for "iPhone" and "iOS", and Apple just chose to use the names without arranging in advance to pay for the right to do so... and paid for it after the fact.
LG owned the trademark for "iPad". same story.
Apple ended up paying a settlement in these cases.
Apple did the same thing with both iPhone and iPad and iOS.
Cisco owned trademarks for "iPhone" and "iOS", and Apple just chose to use the names without arranging in advance to pay for the right to do so... and paid for it after the fact.
LG owned the trademark for "iPad". same story.
Apple ended up paying a settlement in these cases.
Bad Apple. Bad. The lawyers think they saw a loophole by which they cancel the trademark -- but if they really thought it was invalid then they shouldn't have tried to buy it first -- they should have just tried to cancelled it FIRST. Trying to buy it shows that they thought it was a valid trademark. And if they thought it was valid and were unable to acquire then their options should have been (1) offer more money or (2) come up with another name. This is terrible bullying corporate behavior and runs counter to the "values" that Tim Cook espouses about Apple trying to "do the right thing even when it is the hard thing".
Could anyone explain this paragraph?
I think he's got Apple over the coals on this one. I suspect he's going to get a very nice settlement.
Sure, he initially refused the buy out, and Apple threatened legal action, which they followed though on their promise.
From what I've read, given that he trademarked the term under a defunct company, Apple may have an opening with regards to the technically of the issued trademark. I'm no lawyer, but Apple has a lot more funds to fight this, then most people and it may cost the trademark holder a lot of money to defend his trademark.
What's even more sickening is the "little guy" is a developer of iOS apps. Apps and the app store are widely considered to be what has made the iPhone so successful.
They're screwing over one of their own.
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I'm still not clear. Apple threatened legal action because the guy didn't want to sell? Is that not the guy's prerogative?
Yes thats it exactly. It is the guy's prerogative, but apple is playing hard ball because they have the money and means to make this a difficult process.
Why not, he trademarked it, he's has an actual product with that name. He can dictate what ever price he wants. From what I've read it may not even be someone asking for a lot of money, but rather not wiling to sell it.
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Its right in the news story
Now Apple has to pay for the poo.
Apple is facing a lawsuit for infringing on an existing Animoji trademark, reports The Recorder. Animoji is the name Apple chose for the 3D animated emoji-style characters that will be available on the iPhone X.
The lawsuit [PDF] was filed on Thursday by law firm Susman Godfrey LLP on behalf of Enrique Bonansea, a U.S. citizen living in Japan who owns a company called Emonster k.k. Bonansea says he came up with the name Animoji in 2014 and registered it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2015.
Since 2014, Bonansea has been using the Animoji name for a messaging app available in the iOS App Store. The lawsuit alleges Apple was aware of the Animoji app and attempted to purchase the Animoji trademark ahead of the unveiling of the iPhone X.Bonansea's Animoji app has been downloaded more than 18,000 times, he says, and it continues to be available in the App Store. The app is designed to send animated texts to people.
In the summer of 2017, ahead of the unveiling of the iPhone X, Bonansea was allegedly approached by companies with names like The Emoji Law Group LLC who attempted to purchase his Animoji trademark, and he believes these entities were working on behalf of Apple.
He opted not to sell, though he says he was threatened with a cancellation proceeding if he did not. On September 11, just prior to the debut of the iPhone X, Apple did indeed file a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the Animoji trademark.
Bonansea originally trademarked the name under a Washington corporation called "emonster, Inc," a company that is now defunct. Apple's petition to cancel argued that the "emonster Inc" company did not exist when the Animoji registration was initially filed, and Bonansea claims that it was a mistake the trademark was not filed under the name of his Japanese company, Emonster k.k. A cancellation proceeding for the trademark appears to still be pending.
Apple's Animoji
The lawsuit suggests that Bonansea planned to release an updated Animoji app at the end of 2017, but had to rush to submit a new app "so that Apple did not further associate the Animoji mark in the public's minds with Apple." He claims this has caused suffering and "irreparable injury" as he has had to rush to market with an unfinished product. Bonansea is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent Apple from using the Animoji name along with damages and attorney fees.
Article Link: Apple Sued Over 'Animoji' Trademark
I'm just basing it on what I read from the article.
“Bonansea was allegedly approached by companies with names like The Emoji Law Group LLC who attempted to purchase his Animoji trademark, and he believes these entities were working on behalf of Apple.”
Assuming that is accurate, if you want to sound threatening then names like “The Emoji Law Group LLC” doesn’t quite pull it off. Maybe “My dad’s bigger than your dad LLC”.
Assuming that is accurate, if you want to sound threatening then names like “The Emoji Law Group LLC” doesn’t quite pull it off. Maybe “My dad’s bigger than your dad LLC”.
The app that's wasn't really in the App Store?
And implementing something that does what something else does isn't really stealing or anything like that. Otherwise all those word processor apps and notes apps and calendar apps are surely stealing all those ideas.
Apple also got "App Store" after opposing someone else who got it.
They also tried to trademark "Multi-Touch", but a long letter to the USPTO from TED demonstrator Jeff Han stopped that.
Then there was that smaller mess with that developer's rejected WiFi Sync app and icon.
You misunderstand.
The reason to use a shell company is not to be threatening, but to hide the real buyer so that they can obtain your trademark for less. As in:
True, but if it's worth it they'll pay. Isn't that Apple's own pricing mantra?
Do we know what Apple offered him through that shill company?
I honestly can't get my head around the people defending Apple in this thread! That's actually quite scary that these people walk amongst us.
Remember in 2011 when Apple sued a German cafe called "Apfelkind" (Apple Child) because it said the cafe had a logo very similar to its own?
Luckily in 2013 the cafe won the trademark battle, but it took a whole two year.
Apple also sued a school in Canada in 2008 because of their logo:
And Apple also took on Woolworths in 2009 because of their logo:
Searching online, there are many such instances.
Apple is a bully. Reminds me very much of Nissan. An interesting read for anyone that wants to know why Nissan does not own Nissan.com and the huge pain it's caused the owner of the domain - www.Nissan.Com
Remember in 2011 when Apple sued a German cafe called "Apfelkind" (Apple Child) because it said the cafe had a logo very similar to its own?
Luckily in 2013 the cafe won the trademark battle, but it took a whole two year.
Apple also sued a school in Canada in 2008 because of their logo:
And Apple also took on Woolworths in 2009 because of their logo:
Searching online, there are many such instances.
Apple is a bully. Reminds me very much of Nissan. An interesting read for anyone that wants to know why Nissan does not own Nissan.com and the huge pain it's caused the owner of the domain - www.Nissan.Com
It is worth reading up on the question of how prior art affects trademarks. Even if the software developer in this case owns a first use right to the name (having arguably used it first), the claimant to the first use right would have to prove as much. Having registered it to a (supposedly) defunct company would not work in his favor, it seems. He'd also have to prove that his and Apple's product are similar enough that consumers would be confused. If the products are sufficiently dissimilar, then both would have the right to use the name.
I would not assume that Apple is simply trying to mow down a little guy just because they can. It looks like they made a good faith effort to buy him out and remove any question of trademark ownership, but he declined the offer (probably because he thought the offer could have been higher). In any case Apple has to be careful here or they risk having this dispute overshadow the iPhone X rollout. They have the means to make this guy very happy, and I suspect they will. They will make his lawyers happy, too.