The curious case of the iphone trademark: Apple loses fight over iPhone name in China
Apple has lost a legal battle against a Chinese handbag maker over its use of the iPhone trademark.
Xintong Tiandi, a Chinese company that sells leather purses and phone cases, trademarked "IPHONE" in 2010.
Apple filed a trademark for “iPhone” in 2002, but got approval only in 2013.
The tech giant launched a legal tirade against the Chinese firm in 2012 but lost the case. The Californian firm then filed a lawsuit in a lower Beijing court but failed to win that case too.
After losing both cases, Apple appealed to the Beijing municipality court which ruled that the tech firm had not been able to prove the iPhone brand was "familiar to the public and widely known" in China prior to its registration.
In a statement, an Apple spokesperson said: "Apple is disappointed the Beijing Higher People's Court chose to allow Xintong to use the iPhone mark for leather goods when we have prevailed in several other cases against Xintong.
"We intend to request a retrial with the Supreme People's Court and will continue to vigorously protect our trademark rights."
"We work hard to make the best products in the world and want to ensure our customers' experience is not compromised by companies who try to profit from using our brand," the spokesperson added.