Apple faces iPhone trademark challenge in India
According to Patently Apple, the Cupertino company may be facing another trademark battle over the iPhone name. This time the skirmish is taking place in India, where a technology firm is challenging the Cupertino company's legal rights over the iPhone name.
iVoice Enterprises, based in Tamil Nadu, has asked India's Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) to re-evaluate the iPhone trademark that belongs to Apple. Rather than dismissing the rectification petition, the IPAB is asking Apple to respond to the challenge and has given the company until November to respond.
Several years ago, Xerox faced similar situation when photocopy shop owner B.V.I. Himachalpathy filed a rectification petition that claimed the Xerox name was a generic term and no longer subject to trademark. The IPAB sided with Xerox in that case, but a similar favorable outcome is not guaranteed with Apple.
