The fight for the iPad trademark could be heating up as Apple is expected to launch a Mac tablet at an event in San Francisco next Wednesday, 27th January.
Whilst a company called Slate Computing - thought to be a front company for Apple - registered the iPad trademark in Canada, Europe and Hong Kong in July last year, Fujitsu still owns the iPad trademark for handheld computing in the US, although appeared less than committed to keeping it.
Apple has reportedly taken advantage of the fact that Fujitsu stopped responding to requests by the US Patent and Trademark Office, who declared the name "abandoned," in April 2009. Fujitsu did however begin pursuing the iPad trademark again in June last year.
Apple has now filed three petitions to extend the deadline to 28 February to take the name away from Fujitsu. Apple has until that date to submit evidence it is the rightful owner of the iPad trademark.
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greendave said on Thu, 21 Jan 2010
Will the big slate be called the MaxiPad? It's the name of a tampon in the USA!
OperaNut said on Thu, 21 Jan 2010
I think apple may have a legal right to the ix where x= the rest of the name. Whether Fujitsu will honour this without a sweetener or will the Fed Gov't step in and uphold Isolationist policy? Who knows gotta just let them get on with it. Who cares what it's called. So long as it is useful!
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