Slashdot Mirror
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!
?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Pity the cows and chickens.
Supercow AL RESCATE!
Bow-ties are cool.
From Wired
Fujitsu? Heck, I'm still waiting for the lawsuit from Paramount/CBS.
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
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
iMoby - and I'm half serious about that suggestion..
http://www.computer-dictionary-online.org/moby.htm?q=moby
Would probably be too hard to grok for the plebs, though
It's The Golden Rule: "He who has the gold makes the rules."
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.
apple would never infringe on someone else's patent
iPaid, iPedo, iPiss, iPoor, iPuke, iScab, iShit, iSlug, iSpit, iSuck, ...
I can't believe you missed iPood ... there's even a T-Shirt!
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.
http://www.currentdirections.com/hardware/fujitsu/ipad100.html ...What were you saying?
[note that I didn't find that link myself, someone else had already posted it several comments up from yours]