The iPhone 4S
Apple does not have exclusive rights to use the ‘iPhone’ trademark in the Brazil, regulators in the country have ruled, as Brazilian company Gradiente Eletronica had registered the name seven years before in Apple, in 2000.
The decision only applies to handsets, though, meaning Apple still has exclusive rights to use ‘iPhone’ on other merchandise, such as software, clothing and in publications, BBC News Online reported the Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) as having said.
Gradiente Eletronica, however, can sue for exclusivity.
The INPI also said Apple is appealing this recent ruling, and added that the consumer tech giant should have received full rights to the iPhone trademark since Gradiente Eletronica didn’t release a product under the name until this past December.
