Apple Better Lose that iTV Dubbing, Says UK Broadcaster

UK broadcaster ITV is reportedly gearing up to face Apple in court, should Cupertino decide on the same name for its upcoming (rumored) TV-centered offerings.

ITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters. It was set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC.

“Furious” executives from the UK television broadcaster are now meeting with lawyers to plan legal action, according to Mirror.co.uk.

A channel insider reportedly said: "You only have to look at recent problems with the iPhone 4 to see not everything Apple produces is gold dust. We all take our ITV brand very seriously and we'll do everything in our power to protect it."

9to5mac cites the paper as noting that an Apple spokeswoman had "denied the names will be too similar".

However, at the time Softpedia checked with the Mirror report in question, an Apple spokeswoman was quoted as saying: "Apple does not comment on rumours and speculation."

Apple is widely believed to be planning the introduction of a revamped Apple TV, which borrows elements from the iPhone, in terms of both hardware and software.

Company watchers claim Apple will be naming its upcoming TV service iTV, and that such a product will rely on a cloud-based iTunes, rather than a hard drive for storing content manually downloaded by the user.

According to Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo, Apple is actively planning to release new products, including a new Apple TV.

Kuo said a new Apple TV using AMD's Fusion solution was to ship in the coming months.

Apple’s new box will not include a hard drive, the analyst added, hinting at the possibility that Apple will also introduce its rumored, cloud-based iTunes.

Kuo’s statements also corroborated talks of the new Apple TV employing a user interface akin to that of the iPhone.

Furthermore, Apple’s revamped device will offer support for social networking websites, network multimedia, and the App Store, the Digitimes analyst said.

Mass production is to commence in December, according to the same source.