This is how Apple kept the name of Apple Watch a secret
How sure were we that the Apple Watch was going to be called the iWatch?
Everyone was fairly confident Apple would go by previous form with its “i” nomenclature.
Everyone was wrong.
So just how did Apple keep the real name of its first smartwatch quiet for so long?
The iWatch name first made an appearance when Apple’s trademark application for the “iWatch” was discovered in 2013.
Then in July, another patent was revealed for “iTime”, a “wrist-worn electronic device” in the US.
The iTime, however, didn’t take off. So close to its unveiling, everyone was apparently already committed to the iWatch, which had already been around for a year by then (and was firmly lodged in Google search).
While everyone was being distracted by that, seven months ago, someone from Apple was quietly filing a trademark for the Apple Watch – in Trinidad and Tobago.
Why Trinidad and Tobago?
Why not?
It’s one of 176 countries where a trademark application can made and then be essentially transferred to another country within six months of registration due to an international treaty, the Wall Street Journal reports.
So, as long as Apple applied to trademark the Apple Watch in the US by 11 September, it would be first in line to obtain it thanks to its application in Trinidad and Tobago.
Want to know what Apple’s next device is called? Just keep an eye on the records of the 176 countries signed up to the Paris Convention, although you might rule out Russia or Iran – unless Apple’s really trying to throw us off the scent.