Ondrej Holzman Even before Apple introduced its Watch, there was lively speculation that the smartwatch from the Californian giant would be called the iWatch. In the end, that didn't happen, probably for a variety of reasons, but one of them will no doubt be potential legal disputes. Even so - when Apple did not present the iWatch - he is being sued.
Irish software studio Probendi owns the iWatch trademark and now claims Apple is infringing it. This follows from the documents that Probendi sent to the Milan court.
Apple has never used the name "iWatch" for its products, but it does pay for Google ads, which will show Apple Watch ads if a user types "iWatch" into the search engine. And that, according to Probendi, is a violation of his trademark.
"Apple systematically uses the word iWatch in the Google search engine to direct customers to its own pages promoting the Apple Watch," the Irish company wrote to the court.
At the same time, the practice applied by Apple is completely common, both in Europe and the United States. Buying ads associated with competing brands is a common practice in the search advertising industry. For example, Google has been sued for this many times, but no one has succeeded in court against it. Neither did American Airlines or Geico.
Furthermore, Probendi doesn't have any product called "iWatch" either, although it is working on its own smartwatch, according to company co-founder Daniele DiSalvo. Their development is said to have been suspended, but they will run on the Android platform. According to Probendi research, its "iWatch" trademark is worth $97 million.
The court hearing in this case should take place on November 11, and according to the results so far in similar cases, it is not expected that the whole matter should represent any problem for Apple.
They don't stand a chance. And if their lawyers get a bad night's sleep at Apple, they will sue the company for reputational damage and demand liquidation compensation.
And this, dear children, is a copyright troll…