Our word is our bond. Unfortunately, it's a number. 007
|
|
|
Apple gets sued over Icloud name, worker starts a union
MAKER OF EXPENSIVE TOYS Apple has been sued by I Cloud Communications over its use of the trademarked term Icloud.
The case, which was filed in the US District Court of Arizona, sees Apple accused of violating Section 43 of the Lanham Act, which relates to false designations of origin and false descriptions of the trademark in question, which was originally registered by I Cloud.
I Cloud was established in 2005 as a cloud computing and telecommunications company. Both its name and its logo used the typical Apple naming conventions. This was a few years after the release of the first Ipod, but two years before the first Iphone hit the shelves - in other words, before Apple started hogging the letter I to itself.
I Cloud claims it spent several hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising and marketing its name and logo, both in print and online, both nationally and internationally. It provided examples of its brochures from the past and present day to show the court just how devoted it had been to the trademark.
Apple launched its Icloud music service on 6 June at its Worldwide Developer Conference. On 1 June it filed a trademark registration of the name with the US Patent and Trademark Office, while on 31 May it did the same with the Trademarks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union. It also bought a European trademark from a Swedish company, but this company also employed the name two years after I Cloud did.
I Cloud claims that the goods and services offered by Apple under this name are near identical to what it has offered since 2005, but that the marketing strength and media coverage of Apple has led to the name being identified with Apple rather than the original trademark holder.
I Cloud wants an injunction granted against Apple that will prevent it from continuing to use the Icloud name. It is also requesting damages and attorneys' fees.
Meanwhile, one Apple employee in San Francisco, Cory Moll, has set up a union for the company to handle issues relating to compensation, pay and benefits. The Apple Retail Workers Union works primarily through social networking, but it has failed to garner much public support due to the traditional loyalty to the company of Apple employees. There are no calls for strikes or other union action, but this could be the beginning of dissent in Apple's retail worker ranks. µ
Tags: Apple
Share this:
Share
@Bob Forsberg, Unions do work. Unionized workers, like the examples you give, have higher wages and better benefits than non-unionized workers.
Greed is good. Greedy Unions benefit workers just like greedy management benefits shareholders. The free market guarantees that greed leads to the best possible outcome.
What's REALLY funny is the fact that Apple bought the domain name iCloud.com from Sweden-based hybrid cloud computing outfit Xcerion. So when it was used for more than 6 years it wasn't a problem but when deep-pocket Apple got it...time to sue!
As for the employee...anyone want to bet he's a marginal performer looking to make sure he isn't fired anytime soon? He's a lawsuit waiting to happen now as anything Apple says or does to him will be used to file a suit for union busting or intimidation.
It's truly a FU Apple day!
The part time employee of Apple attempting to start a union is all noise...and you write about it as if its a trend that's happening?
After 50-60 years of unions, any sane person realizes unions don't work, in the long run.....just look at General Motors & Chrysler or clothing manufacturers.
Apple's iCloud is not a product or service you can buy. it is merely a "feature" of iOS 5.
FYI: Before the iPod, there was the iMac and the iBook.
Reminds me of bullshit like "Kbps".
read the complaint directly:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/57544701/iCloud-Complaint
it makes it quite clear. the article author is the one that mangled the company name here
Most the of the gazillion lawsuit's are just plain silly. But when a giant disrespects others because of it's size and "it can do no wrong" attitude because they think they are entitled, it might be legit.
As I read it, I Cloud is ONE CLOUD, and Apple's iCloud is an entirely different thing.
the article author is also clueless about what he writes because iCloud Communications has a simple trademark not a REGISTERED trademark as he writes in the article text.
in the US it is NOT mandatory to register a trademark. The registration mostly serves as a central database reference point and makes it easier to sue someone for mis-using your registered name.
If you do not register a trademark, when you sue someone for mis-using your name you have to provide EXTENSIVE proof that you have been using the name before the other party decided to start trampling on your name and, imho, iCloud Communications has done this quite well. Apple must either settle & buy them out or pay damages through the nose.
It's bad enough the author is clueless but what excuse does his editor have!
I wonder if Apple could also get sued for the name 'iWeb'. Here in Canada, there is a big company called iWeb Technologies Inc. (iWeb for short). It is one of the biggest datacenter company in , providing server co-location, hosting, etc. with multi-gigabytes backbone pipes. It was founded in 1996 (where Apple iWeb was first announced in 2006).