U.S. technology giant Apple
Tuesday lost the right to use the iPhone brand in Brazil, according
to the country's National Industrial Property Institute (INPI).
The INPI, which oversees patents in Brazil, ruled that the brand
belongs to Brazil's Gradiente, an electronics company that had
registered the name in 2000, seven years before Apple launched its
now world-famous smartphone.
Apple applied to use the name in Brazil in 2007, when Gradiente
had yet to launch any products of its own under the name, due to
poor financial health.
But just as its patent on the name was about to expire, Gradiente
unveiled in December 2012 its IPHONE, which costs about a third of
the price of Apple's latest model.
The institute said its decision will be officially published Feb.
13 in its Intellectual Property magazine.
Neither Gradiente nor Apple have commented on the decision, which
Apple can still appeal, unless it comes to an agreement with
Gradiente.
Apple faced a similar obstacle in the United States, where Cisco
Systems owned the rights to the iPhone brand and reached an
agreement with Apple.
Additionally, Apple's iPad brand was owned by Proview Technology,
which sold the rights to Apple for 60 million U.S. dollars.
