Apple loses iPhone trademark in Brazil
On 13 February 2013 Brazilian law-makers ruled that Apple has lost exclusive rights to use the iPhone trademark in the country. Apple’s adversary is Gradiente Eletrônica, a local company that registered the name in 2000, six years before Apple did so. Gradiente Eletrônica launched its own Android-based iPhone on the Brazilian market in December 2012.
If Apple continues to sell telephones marked as iPhones in Brazil, the US electronics colossus risks being sued. Apple has already appealed the decision, which applies only to mobile phones. Apple still owns exclusive rights to use the iPhone brand on clothes, for software and in publications. Apple’s supplier, Foxconn, is currently producing iPhones and iPads at its plants in Brazil, which is South America’s largest market.