What you need to know
- The "iPhone" trademark dispute in Brazil is ongoing.
- Electronics company IGB Electronica is suing for exclusive rights to the trademark.
- Apple and the company have both had rights to the trademark since 2013.
The iPhone trademark dispute is apparently not over, at least in Brazil. Reported by Technoblog via MacRumors, IGB Electronica, an electronics company in Brazil, has revived a long-running lawsuit against Apple for exclusive rights to the "iPhone" trademark in the country.
"IGB Electronica fought a multi-year battle with Apple in an attempt to get exclusive rights to the "iPhone" trademark, but ultimately lost, and now the case has been brought to the Supreme Federal Court in Brazil, according to Brazilian site Tecnoblog (via Reddit)."
The company did originally receive exclusive rights to the trademark back in 2012, but that was shortly changed to allow both IGB Electronica and Apple to use the name. The company tried to fight for exclusive rights again in 2018, but the original ruling to allow Apple to also use the trademark was upheld.
"IGB Electronica under the name Gradiente produced a line of IPHONE-branded Android smartphones in Brazil in 2012, and there was a period of time where the Brazilian company was given exclusive rights to the iPhone trademark. That ruling didn't last, though, and Apple and IGB ultimately both wound up with rights to use the name in the country."
The company is now reportedly set to take up the suit again in hopes to reverse the decision made by the court.
"With the most recent lawsuit, IGB is aiming to reverse that 2018 decision, but the case could take years to get a ruling from the Supreme Federal Court in the country."
It is speculated that the company is hoping to receive a payout from Apple in order to settle the lawsuit.
