Brazilians Can Now Buy an "iPhone" Loaded With Android

Andy Prough writes "If you happen to be in Brazil and have 599 reals jingling in your pocket ($304 US dollars or £196), you can buy an iPhone — that runs Android. Gradiente Electronica, which registered the 'iPhone' name in Brazil in 2000, has won the right to sell its iPhone Neo One, an Android phone running version 2.3, Gingerbread. Gradiente won the ruling from the Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), despite Apple's argument that Gradiente should lose the right to 'iPhone' because it had not used the name between 2008-2012. Apple retains the right to appeal the case, and Gradiente now has the right to sue Apple for exclusivity in Brazil. If Gradiente wins, the only iPhones sold in Brazil would have a picture of a cute green robot on the box cover."

Comments

Looks legit

[LordLucless]

The company registered the trademark before Apple even thought about launching the iPhone, and produced the physical product to go with it. Good on them. If Apple really cared about the Brazilian market, they would have checked up on trademarks as part of due diligence before branding - it's not like Apple hasn't had bad experiences with trademark issues before.

Re:Looks legit

[mvar]

I was about to post the exact same thing. they settled that lawsuit

Re:Looks legit

[Vintermann]

Apple the record company settled with Apple computers for $80000 and a promise that they wouldn't enter each other's respective business domains. The record company got angry when the computer company did just that in 2003 with iTunes.

Re:Apple lost in court

[azalin]

Time to include Brazil in the "War on Drugs" (R)

Re:This is what trademarks are for

[santax]

No, this ruling is just what the trademark is about. They were first to claim the name. So they get to use it. The amount of money an infringer on such trademark spends to get people to think they come up with the brand doesn't matter at all.

Re:Apple lost in court

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope you realize that foreigners don't patriotically salute the American flag, and may even be overjoyed that this company stood up to an overbearing American company.

No no no!!!

[tuppe666]

The law suit was against Apple iTunes.

There was never a problem until Apple decided to get into the music business.

I don't mean to correct you, wikipedia has a nice history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer the short version of it, as part of the original *settlement* they agreed not to get into to music...and then they did.

Actually we don't Android in Bazil too. :)

[tuppe666]

Actually, we just want iPhones like everybody else.

Actually we want Android phones...its why Apple only have 0.4% of the Brazilian Market. http://www.statista.com/statistics/245189/market-share-of-mobile-operating-systems-for-smartphone-sales-in-brazil/ compared to Androids 56%

Re:Actually we don't Android in Bazil too. :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Kinda wrong.

Yes, Apple is not selling iPhone 5 in Brazil, but you can buy iPhone 4 and 4S here:

http://store.apple.com/br/browse/home/shop_iphone

Re:Actually we don't Android in Bazil too. :)

[morcego]

Apple DOES NOT sell their phones "officially" in Brazil or Argentina (and most of latin america).

You are wrong. Apple simply doesn't see it directly (their own store).

Apple phones are sold by at least some of the cell phone companies (operators), and it is quite official.

Re:Apple lost in court

[fredprado]

The illegal import in iPhones, which is not very significant, won't likely be affected at all.

Brazilian law != US law

[mangu]

they did not DEFEND the trademark for the first 5 years

Are you a Brazilian lawyer? If not, how do you know Brazilian trade mark law requires that?

The decision to deny Apple the use of the iPhone trade mark was made by the Brazilian federal agency for intellectual property, one must assume they know what they are doing.

Re:Schadenfreude

[JBMcB]

Brazil isn't even *close* to being a 3rd world country. It' the sixth largest economy in the world, above England and Italy, and just below France. There are some dodgy parts, just like there are dodgy parts of the US.