Apple reportedly seeks ‘iWatch’ trademark in half-dozen countries
Following a report that Apple had applied for the “iWatch†trademark in Japan, more articles have come out claiming the tech giant also filed for the trademark in a half-dozen other countries.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Apple had filed for the trademark with Japan’s patent office. The trademark seems to be for a watch that Apple is believed to be working on. The wrist device could connect with users’ iPhones to show them messages and other information.
The next report, from 9to5Mac, said Apple had filed for the trademark with Mexico’s Institute of Industrial Property. The report says Apple filed for the “iWatch†trademark under the category of mobile hardware and software.
The report includes a photo of the application, which shows Apple’s Cupertino headquarters address.
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Shortly after, MacRumors came out with a similar report for Taiwan. There, Apple appears to have filed with the country’s intellectual property office, based on a screenshot of the filing included by MacRumors.
Later, MacRumors updated the report to say Apple had done the same in both Turkey and Chile. Likewise, 9to5Mac updated its story to say that a reader had confirmed Apple has also filed for the trademark in Colombia. The update includes a screenshot of the Colombian filing.
Last month, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that Apple had done the same in that country.
A number of patents describing watch-like mechanisms have been filed by Apple in the U.S. but no one has yet uncovered a trademark filing in the U.S.
And no one has confirmed when the iWatch could launch, but the recent trademark-filing spree could mean that the new Apple device would hit stores as early as this year.
Apple could not be reached for comment.
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