bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Bien Perez

Jack Liu

Apple remains in a pitched battle inside China’s complex legal system over trademark disputes, years after the technology giant went through a long and acrimonious battle over the iPad name on the mainland.
Sources said Apple’s recent legal setback over the exclusive use of the iPhone trademark on the mainland was one of a series of disputes it had with the same company, Xintong Tiandi Technology (Beijing).
The Beijing Municipal Higher People’s Court ruled on March 31 against Apple’s appeal in a trademark case involving use of the “IPHONE” mark, according to a report in the state-owned Legal Daily.
“This ruling relates to only one category of trademark: imitation leather, leather, wallets, purses, leather thread, leather passport wallets, leather key cases, leather straps and leather trimmings for furniture,” one source said.
The court granted Xintong Tiandi use of the Apple trademark for that category of products, which it had first applied for on September 2007.
Apple results disappoint as sales of iPhones fall for first time
Apple applied for the iPhone trademark in China in October 2002, but it was not approved until 2013. That trademark covered so-called Class 9 electrical and scientific apparatus.
Another source said Apple had previously “succeeded in opposing and cancelling other marks, including ‘IPHONE’, ‘iphone shop’ and ‘ipad’ marks, sought by this company [Xintong Tiandi] in other trademark categories”.
Apple in Beijing had no comment. The iPhone is the company’s flagship product and the most popular device that it sells on the mainland, which is the world’s biggest smartphone market.
Top risk expert says Apple could be shut out of China
Losing its exclusive use of the iPhone brand on the mainland may have evoked a sense of deja vu for Apple, which had to settle a lengthy dispute over the iPad name in 2012 with a US$60 million payout to Proview Technology (Shenzhen).
That iPad trademark settlement was substantially less than the initial US$2 billion claim made by the mainland company. Apple’s dispute against Proview began soon after the mainland company sold its global trademarks to the iPad name – including two registered on the mainland – for £35,000 in December 2009 to a British firm set up by Apple to acquire such brand rights.


Embracing AI, robots, drones and other ed-tech in the classroom means teachers learning too

Huawei has global ambitions for ‘pure blood’ OS, but China is the focus for now

Indonesia rejects Apple’s US$100 million investment offer to lift iPhone 16 sales ban

Apple, Tesla and Starbucks to face testing time in China under second Trump administration

Apple

Apple loses another trademark fight in mainland China

<p>Xintong Tiandi wins right to use IPHONE mark on wallets and purses</p>

People line up for the latest iPhone outside an Apple store in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Photo: Reuters