14 DAY TRIAL // In Brazil, a company called Gradiente has the exclusive right to commercialize the iPhone brand, as it owns the dubbing in that country. While it wishes to preserve its intellectual property rights, it is open to discussions with Apple for a potential licensing deal.
Apple has been selling iPhones in Brazil for a while now, but the “iPhone” trademark actually belongs to Gradiente in the Portuguese-speaking country.
“We’re open to a dialogue for anything, anytime,” said Eugenio Emilio Staub, chairman of IGB, in an interview in Sao Paulo, according to Bloomberg.
Staub reportedly added that his company hadn’t been contacted by Apple. “We’re not radicals,” he said.
Giving new meaning to the expression “adding insult to injury,” Gradiente sells an iPhone powered by Google’s Android operating system.
INPI, the institute responsible for issuing trademarks to companies in Brazil, reportedly confirmed that Gradiente held exclusive rights to the iPhone trademark in the country.
Apple will most likely have to discuss with Gradiente to buy back their iPhone name in Brazil, much like it had to do with Proview’s iPad trademark in Taiwan.