Apple may be headed for a dispute with Fujitsu over the iPad trademark. Fujitsu applied for the iPad trademark in the U.S. in 2003, a year after it unveiled its own iPad, a handheld device designed to help shop clerks with inventory, sales, and price checks. “It’s our understanding that the name is ours,” Masahiro Yamane, director of Fujitsu’s public relations division, told the New York Times. Features of Fujitsu’s iPad include a 3.5-inch color touchscreen, an Intel processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, and VoIP telephony. “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.”
The United States Patent and Trademark Office listed Fujitsu’s application for the mark as abandoned in early 2009, but the company revived the application in June; soon after, Apple began filing for an iPad international trademark via a proxy company, and has since filed requests with the USPTO for more time to oppose Fujitsu’s application. According to the report, Apple has until February 28 to state whether it will oppose Fujitsu’s claims to the iPad name. Notably, Apple faced a similar situation with the original iPhone, as that name was held by Cisco at the time; the two companies eventually negotiated a settlement. Fujitsu is a current component supplier to Apple, providing the company with laptop hard drives for its MacBook line of notebooks.
