Apple may face legal fire from the Japanese electronics maker

Jan 29, 2010 08:21 GMT  ·  By

Fujitsu has stepped forward revealing that Apple’s iPad may infringe on its rights, as it was the first to apply for the iPad trademark over seven years ago. According to various reports, Apple also applied for the name, but hasn’t actually regained complete ownership of the trademark, we are left to understand. Moreover, Fujitsu is known to have lost the iPad trademark this spring. The company seems to be struggling to claim the name through its earlier development.

“It’s our understanding that the name is ours,” Masahiro Yamane, director of Fujitsu’s public relations division, said on Thursday. According to a report by The New York Times,  Yamane said Fujitsu was aware of Apple’s plans to sell the iPad tablet and that the company was in talks with attorneys on the matter.

Yes, Fujitsu also has a device called iPad. It sells for way more than Apple’s, runs on Microsoft’s CE.NET operating system, has a 3.5-inch color touchscreen, an Intel processor and Wi-fi and Bluetooth connections, and supports Internet VoIP calls, something the iPad may employ as well.

“Mobile is a keyword for Fujitsu’s iPad, too,” Mr. Yamane said. “With the iPad, workers don’t have to keep running back to a computer. They have everything right at their fingertips.”

It is revealed in the NY Times report that Fujitsu's attempts to trademark the iPad name were stalled because of an earlier filing by an information technology security company based in Seal Beach, California, called Magtek. The latter applied for the name in relation to a handheld number-encrypting device, people familiar with the matter inform.

Lastly, readers are also informed that Apple has faced this problem before, with its iPhone, a name Cisco Systems had secured for itself ahead of the iPhone’s debut in 2007. The two parties negotiated a settlement and the iPhone name was Apple’s to keep. Hopefully, for Apple, things will go smoothly this time around as well.

Softpedia note

Of course, Fujitsu’s iPad and Apple’s iPad are entirely different devices. Apple’s suits the iPad dubbing best, if you ask us. But you know what they say: finders keepers.