iCloud Communications Drags Apple to Court over iCloud Trademark

iCloud Communications is suing Apple over the iCloud trademark used to advertise the forthcoming Internet-based set of services, claiming it is dependent on the name in order to advertise its offerings profitably, as it has been doing for years.

In its filing, iCloud Communications says its "software applications and customer data are hosted at and are accessed through its secure data centre and telecommunications hub" which they bought for more than $550,000.

Their usage of the iCloud dubbing to promote services spans around six years and holds considerable marketing and advertising costs, according to the filing.

"By virtue of iCloud Communications’ long and extensive use of the iCloud Marks, its advertising and promotional campaigns and expenditure of substantial monies thereon, iCloud Communications had, prior to June 6, 2011, established significant goodwill and valuable rights in and ownership to the iCloud Marks in connection with computer telephony and electronic data transmission and storage services," the company said.

They added that media coverage surrounding Apple's iCloud announcement from WWDC 2011 has irreparably damaged the company's association with the moniker.

"Monetary relief alone is inadequate to fully address the irreparable injury that Apple’s illegal actions have caused and will continue to cause to iCloud Communications if this court does not enjoin Apple,” reads the complaint.

“iCloud Communications is, therefore, entitled to preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to stop Apple’s unfair competition," their lawyers say.

iCloud Communications’ legal department is demanding a trial by jury and seeks to transfer the icloud.com domain name from Apple over to the Arizona company which currently uses geticloud.com as a domain name.

Apple is known to have bought the iCloud domain name earlier this year from Sweden-based Xcerion for the sum of $4.5 million.

Apple’s iCloud will be the replacement of MobileMe. The new cloud services will work seamlessly with applications on the user’s iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and even Windows PC, to automatically and wirelessly store and push it to all those devices whenever a change is recorded on any of them.