Suit alleges that Apple’s EarPods infringe on trademark rights

Apr 3, 2013 08:28 GMT  ·  By

Randolph Divisions is a company that makes a digital hearing aid called the HearPod. Which sounds a lot like EarPod, the new headphones from Apple Inc. introduced in September 2012 along with the iPhone 5 and the 5th-generation iPod touch.

Why would two words that sound alike be in the news? Well, because one of the two companies we’ve mentioned above is suing the other for trademark infringement. And Apple is the one defending itself.

Randolph Divisions reportedly filed the suit last week in the Hawaii District Court in Honolulu, citing its “HearPod” trademark which was successfully registered in 2007, back when Apple was still selling regular headphones.

In the suit, Randolph Divisions claims that Apple is infringing on its “HearPod” trademark with the EarPods line of headphones. It is unclear what kind of damages they’re citing, but we’re guessing they just want Apple to pay a licensing fee.

The alternative would be for Apple to change the name of the product (which is highly unlikely), or pull the earbuds from the market altogether (even more unlikely).