Apple gains control of "i-phone" trademark in China

Back in 2002, Apple applied to register the iPhone trademark in China, but that application was limited to computer hardware and software, not mobile phones. A year later (three years before the iPhone's introduction), Chinese manufacturer Hanwang Technology applied for the trademark "i-phone" for a device they briefly sold. I

Since then, Apple has been working to acquire the trademark "i-phone," and this week they finally succeeded. According to Macworld, the record for the trademark now shows Apple's name where it used to list Hanwang Technology. On Monday a Hanwang representative stated that Apple has indeed acquired the trademark, but refused to give any details.

The iPhone's performance in China has been interesting, as the government's communication restrictions, a bustling black market and cheaper competition in Hong Kong got things off to a slow start. Just last week, China Unicom reported that they had sold 300,000 iPhones, which tripled claims of only 100,000 units sold by the start of December.