Apple to lose iPhone trademark in Brazil: Source
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The Apple logo is seen in this Sept 11, 2012 file photo at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco. Brazil's copyright regulator will strip Apple Inc of the right to use its iPhone trademark in Latin America's biggest market and granted the trademark to a local company that registered it first, a source familiar with the decision said on Tuesday. -- PHOTO: AFP
RIO DE JANEIRO (REUTERS) - Brazil's copyright regulator will strip Apple Inc of the right to use its iPhone trademark in Latin America's biggest market and granted the trademark to a local company that registered it first, a source familiar with the decision said on Tuesday.
Gradiente Eletronica SA, a Brazilian consumer electronics maker, registered the "iphone" name in 2000, seven years before Apple launched its now virally popular smartphone.
The Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property will officially announce its decision on Feb 13, the source said.
Apple could then challenge the ruling in the Brazilian courts.
