Week 3, Post 1 — Apple loses use over iPhone name.

The patent war has become more of a game. Apple recently lost it's right to use the "iPhone" name in Brazil to Gradiente Electronica's "iphone".

On February 14th, Brazil's Insittute of Industry Property, the country's main patent regulator, ruled that Apple held no exlusive rights to use the iPhone name to market it's mobile phones. If Apple continued to do so, Gradiente can sue Apple.

Gradiente holds trademarks through 2018 for the iphone moniker, after having registered it in 2000. Apple only unveiled the iPhone name in 2007, a full seven years after.

This is a huge blow for apple, as Brazil is one of its biggest markets. It doesn't help the fact that Apple is being sued by firms in China, Japan, and USA.

Apple has had trouble with Cisco, for the same reason when it initially released the iPhone name.
Apple also has had trouple with the iPad moniker, with China's Proview Shenzhen, to whom Apple had to give $60 Million.

Let's see how Apple gets out of this one.