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Fujitsu Readies Lawsuit Over "iPad" Name
gyrogeerloose writes "In an event eerily reminiscent of Cisco's suit over Apple's use of the 'iPhone' name, Japanese firm Fujitsu is consulting its attorneys in preparation for going to court over Apple's use of 'iPad' for its latest computing device. Quoted in a New York Times story, Masahiro Yamane, director of Fujitsu's public relations division, said 'It's our understanding that the name is ours.' Fujitsu's application to trademark the iPad name stalled because of an earlier filing by another company and the US Patent and Trademark Office listed Fujitsu's application as abandoned in early 2009, but the company revived its application in June. Apple, which has applied for an international trademark on 'iPad' through a proxy company, has filed a number of requests with the US Patent Office for more time to oppose Fujitsu's application."
Ipad as a name is about as bad as it can get for apple, due to all the jokes and the SNL skit. Is itablet also trademarked?
There's nothing eerie about this situation. Can't people say "reminiscent" without prefacing it?
I hate to let you two know, but... well, that name is terrible. Then again iPod and Walkman didn't exactly sound great when they first came out either. WAIT! Maybe that is the secret of good marketing! A terrible name. Quickly to the iInventadrome!
?
it will always be the device that shall not be named in my book
Apple should call it "MacsiPad" instead to both avoid a lawsuit and appeal to female consumers.
and spin this as a terrible loss, which will unfortunately cause them to come up with a better name.
"There are no facts, only interpretations." --Friedrich Nietzsche.
As in stone tablets for all you FSM heretics that never went to Sunday school. However, even with a young earth, it should have entered the public domain by now.
Sorry about the mess.
> Japanese firm Fujitsu is consulting its attorneys in preparation for going to court over Apple's use of 'iPad'
How about change it to iWhale instead? :)
Got to wonder how long it'll be before Universal goes after them for infringing on the PADD or for the look and feel of LCARS?
I'd advise Fujitsu to drop it altogether. Given all the jokes going around about Maxi-iPads I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that these marketing dweeds thought that it was a good name. When the presentation was made wasn't there at least one snarky employee in the back snickering?
I don't think I'm manly enough to appear in public with the iPad for Women. In fact, I might sue Apple for reminding me of my childhood trauma of being dragged into that particular aisle of the grocery store by my mother.
Maybe it'll get them to pick a name that doesn't suck as much shit.
earlier filing by another company
So what we have is ACME Inc that isnt even named files a trademark on "iPad" knowing full well that Apple prefixes all their products with an i. They do this on the off chance that Apple ever comes out with an "iPad" and they would be able to sue for big bucks. Fujitsu realizes the same thing and tries to put their own trademark on "iPad", but is blocked because someone else already owns it. Now Apple announces a real iPad and Fujitsu is pissed because they don't really own the trademark yet but want sue someone, and ACME Inc hasn't said anything about the trademark that they already own.
gotta love patent/trademark squatters.
Am I the only person who sees this as an excellent opportunity for Apple to ditch the unfortunate moniker and go with something like iSlate? I mean, they can even deliver a bunch of moralizing over the thing. And yes, it'll cost them - but it's going to cost them to keep the iPad too - people are making more fun of the name then they are paying attention to the shiny lights of the product.
"Change your tablet's name. Not that big of a deal. Michiyoshi Mazuka Sent from some sending device."
Gosh, what a worry.
This is why we should go back to the days when you actually had to _use_ a trademark to acquire any rights to it. Marks aren't supposed to be some buzz-inducing corporate manna- they're supposed to be something that keeps consumers from getting ripped off by poor-quality imitators. Or at the very least signals to the consumer that a reputable company stands behind the product. If Apple gets an iPad tablet out there and it sucks, everybody will know not to buy something with that name. If Fujitsu's rules, people will know to seek it by mark. Otherwise these guys are just an administrative drain on productivity and additional supporters of blind consumerism.
How many times has dad told you that you mustn't drink and post on slashdot...?
Let them have it. Seriously. You don't want to be remembered forever for the creation of the most annoying feminine hygiene meme in the universe.
Apple should just drop the iPad, start doing some mad R&D, and come up with a product people actually want with a respectable name like iSlate or iTablet.
Sent from my iPhone 5
I'm pretty sure that name is available.
Remember to maintain your supply of
Bullshit! MagTek has an IPAD product, and has filed the trademark in 2000 which was later granted and then extended several times. Even Fujitus was and is after the name for their product much longer than Apple.
knowing full well that Apple prefixes all their products with an i
Apple doesn't own "iX" and it shouldn't get any special treatment. If it wants a trademark then should apply for it like everyone else. In this case it's late to the game, in fact too late.
How about they just label all of their products iCandy?
... iThink500DollarsIsFarTooExpensiveForSomethingSoLockedDown.
Or are we using that one for Apple's mobile telephone thingy?
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
I read it as, Fujitsu, we're green with envy.
Pity the cows and chickens.
Supercow AL RESCATE!
Bow-ties are cool.
That name is garbage compared to Microsoft's new iTampon.
Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal.
Steve
Sent from my iPhone
Steve Jobs to Developer: Name Change ‘Not That Big of a Deal’
From Wired
Barratt homes (a housing company in the UK) built apartments known as iPads
Fujitsu? Heck, I'm still waiting for the lawsuit from Paramount/CBS.
I can understand it if there's a chance that someone might be confused between the Apple iPad or the Fujitsu iPad, but that's not likely to happen. Yeah, they're both portable, use batteries, and have plastic cases and digital screens, but there's pretty much where the similarities end. Oh, and one is so like ten years ago that most people wouldn't have even thought of it much less confused it.
Can we stop the stoopid litigations so that people can focus on doing things to make money, instead of suing each other for it. Oh, wait...first we must get rid of all of the lawyers...insert favorite lawyer joke here...
And Apple should have just done us a favor and called it the "iPod Jumbo" and been done with it.
End the FUD
It's interesting that in the Canadian Apple Stores, the sales assistants use the Fujitsu iPad http://solutions.us.fujitsu.com/downloads/retail/DS_IPAD.pdf if you wish to pay by credit card and have your receipt e-mailed to you (you don't need to line up at a cashier)
iScry
iPon
iBigger
iViddy
iDiddy
iWantOne
iCantBelieveItsNotActuallyUsefulForAnything
iDroppedItLikeTwoDaysAfterIBoughtIt
iThinkItLooksGreatOnMyCoffeeTable
iBoughtANewCoffeeTableJustForIt
Trademarks conflicts are nothing new to Apple Inc. They and the Beatle music company Apple Corp fought over the Apple name and business model since 1978. Apple Computer was supposed to stick to computers and Apple Corp to music, but the lines were blurred several times.
iPityTheFool
Needs a name that says, I am just like the iPhone, just bigger, and without an actual phone.
The digital tampon:
Shh.. iTampon is the name for the next pocket sized version.. And the full newspaper sized one is the Max..
It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.
I thought the iTampon was the name of the coming wearable computer.
You can always tell a company's relevance by the lawsuits they file.
There's this one.
Microsoft vs TomTom over FAT
Apple vs Microsoft over the use of a GUI. Not their finest moment, foretold years of problems for Apple.
I could go on, but slashdot readers know the score.
Only the dead have seen the end of War. - Plato
Those ARE inches!!!
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
Hmm. After seeing what a joke everyone thinks the name is - they might just "settle" with Fujitsu and change the name... Hmm... I know relabeling the units (if they're finished) would cost some cash - but might get them out of this PR nightmare. Nobody likes the name.
Here we go again! Apple will somehow win their way out of this one like they always do.
http://www.novoparatus.com
I still think Big Ass iPod Touch is the name to use.
Bullshit! MagTek has an IPAD product
Now look closer. The MagTek device in your link is a point-of-sale card swipe terminal, presumably sold mainly to the retail industry.
Now look at TFA. The Fujitsu iPad is a point-of-sale card-swipe terminal sold mainly to the retail industry.
The Apple iPad, meanwhile, is a consumer appliance, conspicuously lacking a card-swipe device and is not primarily targeted at the point-of-sale market.
Or, in other words, MagTek have Fujitsu banged to rights for infringing their trademark, whereas Apple have a strong argument that they're not operating in the same market.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
I thought the iTampon was the name of the coming wearable computer.
No.. That would be the SUPPOSiTORY
It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.
This is paraphrasing what Steve Jobs said to a developer that Apple's lawyers didn't like.
Whats wrong with "applepad" Thats who makes is anyways. Who is this icompany i keep hearing about.
Jack of all trades,master of none
At the time, we noted that Apple had not pursued an "iPad" trademark in the United States, ostensibly due to existing claims on the name by Fujitsu for an electronic retail inventory device. While Fujitsu initially filed its trademark application for "iPad" in March 2003, the trademark has yet to be officially accepted, and was in fact classified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as "abandoned" in April 2009 after Fujitsu failed to respond to a request for additional information. In June 2009, Fujitsu applied to have the application revived and, after amendment, was published for public comment and opposition on September 1, 2009.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=851523
Apple also needs a better name for their iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad operating system, since "iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad operating system" is too cumbersome. I suggest that they name it Apple iOS. =)
apple would never infringe on someone else's patent
Seriously? Has no one out here heard/felt the iGasm yet? More or less the same thing. Gotta love rebranding an old idea. http://ownedirl.com/misc/iGasm.jpg
No it will be called the iPax. because it brings world peace.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
other options:
iPun
iPal
iPap
iPro
iPig
iPox
iPup
iPet
iDea latin for a female IDeity
iOta
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
iPaid, iPedo, iPiss, iPoor, iPuke, iScab, iShit, iSlug, iSpit, iSuck, ...
I can't believe you missed iPood ... there's even a T-Shirt!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs&feature=player_embedded :)
Seems like Steve Jobs got the idea from there
(A tribute to all of those having to thing of maxipads everytime you read iPad)
I find myself agreeing with you and the post you were replying to. Personally, I don't use twitter, in fact I haven't had a mobile phone for the last 5yrs by choice and I have never been interested in having a personal web page. Not having a mobile phone tends to piss other people off much more than it inconviences me. I enjoy walking out the front door and being "offline", possibly because I'm an old fart and that's just the way the world was up until I was in my 30's.
I'm a software engineer with a CS degree and a head full of geeky science trivia. My adult kids think I'm a bit of a paradox, a tech-savy luddite one might say.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Fujitsu would be doing Apple a favour if they won. Worst product name ever.
WAIT! Maybe that is the secret of good marketing! A terrible name.
Nintendo concurs.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
When you move out and give us back our dungeon.
If you'd read the story, you'd see there is a Fujitsu iPad, so sounds like they've got a chance.
So Fujitsu tries to get the name, can't, then develops a product for it anyway - and you think that's better?
After Apple wins the name they can force Fujitsu to change the product name, recall all existing inventory, and then possibly pay damages... sounds like a big mistake to me.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
After all, they themselves already had a product of that name... iPad, nutty. (sigh) I was hoping for a Mac Tablet, not this stupid blown-up iPod Touch. Blech.
Bachelor pad, keypad, notepad, we use the suffix all the time, certainly in my experience phrases like "I'm just going to grab a pad so I cad write this down", or "I'm going to check out his new pad" aren't met with sniggers. Crazy retweeting overreaction me thinks.
What could be wrong with THAT?
-- "At Microsoft, quality is job 1.1" -- PC Magazine, Nov. 1994
And there is World of Padman http://www.worldofpadman.com/
I have to wonder why a company like Apple has to apply for trademark protection, hiding behind a proxy? Smells fishy....
They can use other names! If there's "iBook" and "PowerBook", maybe they could use, I don't know - PowerPad? ...wait, that has been done before. Hmmmmmm... If there's "MacBooks", maybe "MacPad"? Wait, iPad isn't a Mac. *sigh* They're really dug their own grave now, haven't they?
iTampon...
Fujitsu is doing Apple a great big favor. Losing this suit would be the best thing to happen to the company in this historic product stumble:
There's a five year-old MadTV skit touting a mythical cross between an iPod and a feminine sanitary product--and it's called iPad. The Colbert Report just joked about calling it the "TamPod." The obligatory Downfall/Hitler mash-up is as devastating a critique of the product's capabilities as you could find in an industry magazine.
Word of warning, though. Apple is at its best when it's fallen flat on its face. The Apple ///c was followed by the Mac. iTools was followed by .Mac. The Mac Portable was followed by the PowerBook 100. The Cube was followed by the Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver).
Wait a year...
the fifth slashdot post about the iPad. When will we get over it?
I'll wait for the miniature version. I heard a rumour that it will have a phone and camera built in, so it will actually be more than just a picture frame.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
How can Bunny Swan not be funny?
Watch a Bunny Swan clip and the answer will be revealed.
<shrug> it's possible Bunny Swan is every bit as funny as "Pat" or "Annoying Man" or other SNL characters I liked when I was a kid... But damn, does it ever seem not funny. Stupid schtick, high-strung peripheral characters blowing shit way out of proportion, and the audience laughing way too hard at it all.
I always thought iTab would be nice..
About as funny as saying Jobs first name is Blow, not Steve.