Apple in iPad legal dispute

Apple has bought the iPad trademark from Fujitsu for an undisclosed fee following months of debate as to which company owned the name.

Fujitsu previously claimed it owned the rights to the iPad name for a handheld computing device trademarked in 2003 that featured wi-fi and Bluetooth technology.

However another company has now claimed the rights to the iPad name. Transform Tecnologia de Ponta’s i-PAD is a portable defibrillator used in hospitals – and it’s likely Apple will have to buy this trademark if the company refuses to hand it over.

Director of Trade Mark Direct Mark Kingsley-Williams said: The companies who already own the registered trademark for iPad in different territories around the world suddenly own a very valuable asset indeed.

Had Transform Tecnologia de Ponta not registered the name in Brazil, they may well have had to cease trading very quickly under the iPad trademark and completely re-brand – a costly process.”