They may have poked the sleeping giant
Don't apple own the "i" in front of every computer / communications type of product?
Surely Apple will demand they (iCloud Communications) cease and desist and force a name change on them
A Phoenix, Arizona company is throwing a trademark complaint at Apple over the iCloud moniker. iCloud Communications LLC stated in its filing, courtesy of The Next Web, on 9 June that it has provided cloud computing services since 2005. It said its "software applications and customer data are hosted at and are accessed …
the domain name for most things worth having have already gone.
Since Apple introduced their iCloud this will have an effect on the public that assumes this established company are to do with Apple, they have a reasonable claim I'd think.
I supose the reponse will be "change your company name, not that big of a deal"
"the domain name for most things worth having have already gone"
A made-up word (iCloud) is suddenly a thing?
You're welcome to a drag of my favourite herb, if it help you see things clearer.
As is, I do agree that they may have a reasonable claim - and that Apple are tossers (for instance, I'm a fan of Versions, the SVN client, not Versions the OS X feature).
Xcerion (the original Swedish owner of icloud.com domain name) has been offering a "cloud" OS for a little over three years (since April 2008) with online storage, mail, calendar, etc. In other words, almost identical services to those of iCloud Communications.
If this company had any real claim they should have been in court with Xcerion or trying to obtain the domain name from them for the last three years, the fact that they didn't suggest that they've been riding the iAnything bandwagon to sell their own service and were happy to imply an Apple connection when it worked in their favour.
The main thrust of their claim is that Apple "has form" for using names that belong to other companies and sites iPhone, iPad and the Mighty Mouse specifically. Unfortunately, they should have done some research first.
iPhone: Cisco had a trademark in the US since 2000 acquired when they bought another company *but* they didn't own the trademark anywhere else and there were at least four VoIP phones on the market already called "The iPhone". Apple did try to strike a deal with Cicso but couldn't and presumably figured Cisco's position was weakened by not having gone after any of the others. Ultimately Apple did reach an agreement with everyone that they would all continue to sell iPhone devices.
iPad: Fujitsu had a device on the market since 2002 called the iPad, but had failed to obtain the trademark for it. in 2009 it was listed as "abandoned" before Fujitsu tried to revive the claim and Apple made their own claim. Not a particularly cut and dried situation.
Mighty Mouse: Apple obtained the rights to use the name from Viacom/CBS before launching the Mighty Mouse. Unfortunately it transpired that Viacom/CBS didn't have a trademark for Mighty Mouse on computer peripherals, that belonged to someone else. Just a straighforward mistake.
So...
iCloud? Quite clearly that mark belonged to Xcerion and now they've sold it to Apple. Nothing to do with iCloud Communications, they haven't made any claim to the "iCloud" trademark before now.
It doesn't cost a lot to register a trademark, in the grand scheme of things. A quick search on the USPTO site suggests that iCloud Communications LLC haven't tried to register anything "icloudy" as far as I can tell.
Yes, their business may well be adversely affected, but they should have actively protected their brand if it mattered so much to them. In the UK I believe it is possible to oppose trademark applications on the basis of past usage, although I'm not sure it's possible to obtain a trademark retrospectively in such circumstances, and then subsequently enforce it.
Don't get me wrong, I despise crApple and their marketing, but I don't think iCloud Communications LLC have got much of a leg to stand on. If Apple were being kind, and recognised the irreperable damage they've inflicted on a much smaller company who arguably aren't a competitor, they could perhaps fund a full rename, rebrand, and marketing campaign for iCloud Communications LLC, but given how the scumbags at Cupertino operate, I can't for a minute imagine that they'd give a toss
iCloud Communications have learnt the hard way, I'd say...
on those grounds. It's certainly possible the LLC was privately (foolishly as well) trying to resolve things amicably without involving a fleet of lawyers and have only now reached the conclusion that it isn't possible. And even if they weren't that's the claim their lawyer should make.
As a member of a smallish non-profit I was once part of a similar effort against an infringing group, although in our case we were the big fish and they looked like the scammers who could diminish our mark. We were initially just as foolish. If I ever find myself in a similar situation I'll launch the full broadside of lawyers without a second thought.
...I will certainly start by inventing (and patenting, copyrighting, registering, etc.) an entirely new letter for the Latin alphabet (with around 47 distinct sounds spread ad-hoc across 26 letters, English - at least - has plenty of room to move there!).
What iCloud Communications LLC just said to Jobs: "Hey, you, moneybags! Buy me! BUY ME!"
Should be a nice earner for the iCloud Coms shareholders either way. Someone in Apple HQ must have really skipped on the homework on this one, or does Steve really go to market with the attitude "Full speed ahead and damn the icebergs!"
Beatles' Apple Corp. Steve and Steve DELIBERATELY chose Apple because of Beatles!
Cisco iPhone
NEC or Fujitsu iPad
App store
How many other names?
Most Apple patents are either not really original or novel enough, or copies of prior art.
Refused apps on store and then Apple copies
Apple deserve to lose.
In my opinion after seeing that icloud communications have been going for 5 years apple should not be able to use the name icloud as a brand at all... regardless of how much advertising they have put into the name icloud. icloud communications will now suffer for years to come as a result of apple.
only options for apple to keep the icloud brand.
A. buy out icloud coms, if they were to accept an offer...
B. pay them a hefty amount in compensation, as their isn't really hope for that company any more.
pre pair to be spanked apple..
iCloud Communications LLC is the registered company name. Does it need to be *also* registered as a trademark too?
As far as defending their brand or trademark goes, we don't know anything about that yet. Maybe there was nothing to defend in terms of the owners of icloud.com. If the owners of icloud.com were in a different business, them there is no conflict.
Up until the end of 2002, www.icloud.com was redirecting to http://home.ewha.ac.kr/~isjung/, an academic institution in Korea, account holder Insung Jung. Later he hosted it as a proper domain while a Professor at the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.
Xcerion seem to have got the domain from him sometime between 17 Jan and 28 Feb 2008, although Xcerion claim to have launched a cloud service beta called icloud based on their own Cloud OS 30 Sep 2007 and were developing it since 2001.
wrong about everything else. And as an added bonus, you can file for the mark at the same time you sue Apple, it's just a harder legal route to take. If you have the mark clear and free BEFORE you file the suit, your claim is more defensible in court. Now iCloud LLC have to prove things that would be assumed if they had the mark. It's one of the reasons the opposition eventually folded on the event I referenced in my other post.
"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. iCloud Communications is, therefore, entitled to preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to stop Apple’s unfair competition."
Sounds like they want to be bought out and become part of Apple just so they shut up. Hands up who thinks Apple will stop calling their product iCloud?
..that on geticloud.com the landing page is devoted to VOIP solutions not cloud computing, and even when you follow the datacenter link it's all about hosting, managed services and technical support rather than the sort of cloud computing that Apple is pursuing.
On the plus side, the site says they have been in business since 1985.
Given that the icloud.com domain was already in existence for many years, owned legally by another company who legally sold it to Apple, and during all that time these clowns said and did nothing, they do not have a leg to stand on over this.
Just another 2-bit outfit desperately trying to drum up some free publicity by clinging on to Apple's announcements.
I can see that the iCloud name is certainly going to disappear into the forthcoming iCloud noise on the internet. However I can't help thinking that since Apple first coined the 'i' in it's product line many years ago and everyone and their nan has tried jumping on the 'i' band wagon I have no sympathy for the company not being very original with their name.
Not for long, I bet. Despite the fact that they seem to have a solid case, history tells us that they will lose and Apple will rub salt into the wound by forcing them to give up the domain name that they do have.
Icon isn't for Apple, but for a system that allows them to do whatever they want cos they're big enough.
So they didn't pursue the iCloud.com domain name for 6 years? Sounds like a loser to me. Of course, any company whose name is "i"[word] has had more than a few years to come to terms with Apple.
(according to register.com)
icloud.com: Record created on 18-Dec-2007.
geticloud.com: Created on: 03-Mar-05.
So it looks like they had 32 months to buy icloud.com and didn't. Also, they must not be too proud of their domain, since their company name isn't listed, just a private registration.
The internet way-back machine only has them as far as early 2007 and a voice/lan provider
Note that the "created on" date, displayed via a WHOIS query, is typically the date of the most-recent-renewal: icloud.com was most recently updated in December 2007, when it was probably re-registered for 10 years (the expiry date is January 2018).
If you check more carefully, you will find the icloud.com name was originally registered in January 1999. I agree with other posters, if the name was so important, they should have paid for the domain name in 2005 when they started using "icloud".
"Market-Tested VoIP Technologies
Whether you are looking at Hosted PBX or SIP Trunking service, chances are your business will need some VoIP products to run the service at peak performance. Choose from the following technologies:
IP phones are used with hosted PBX service to provide feature rich desk phones
Wireless IP phones provide total flexibility and are used with our Hosted PBX service
VoIP gateways are adapters used to connect non-IP devices such as fax, credit card, or modem devices to a VoIP phone line. They are also used to connect existing non-IP PBX phone systems to SIP trunking VoIP service.
iCloud customers benefit from full configuration and support on these products with our hosted PBX or SIP trunking services."
errrr.... and the 'cloud' element of this is what exactly? Far more likely that they'll get a bunch of hits they wouldn't have had.
what icloud offers is voip services hosed on their network. they deal with all the DDI analogue lines converting them at their PBX or Servers for the fax lines (or something to that fashion). because its all done at their end and made available over the internet, it is a cloud service.
... is tricky across borders - you need a final judgement in your own country, and then spend money to try and get that enforced in the country where the infringement took place, which is maybe why iCould Comms didn't pursue xcerian in Sweden but went straight after Apple in the States...
Most people should look at how Apple Computer took on, lost but really won its battle with Apple Music (aka The Beatles)....
The Beattles had Apple Music long before there were computers, and Apple still got to keep their name as long as they didn't enter the music business and even after they did you can bet they still won, even after some cash payouts etc. And what do we have today? Apple Computer is now just Apple, and you can get Beatles music on iTunes.
Apple will win, and the iCloud company will get a little bit of cash and some free publicity.