iPad and Mi Pad - APPLE VERSUS XIAOMI
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The Mi Pad is Xiaomi's first tablet with the same screen size and resolution as the iPad Mini, and the same colourful plastic materials as those used for Apple’s cheaper iPhones. Xiaomi is one of Apple’s biggest rivals, along with other up-and-coming Chinese manufacturers such as Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei. Xiaomi competes with Apple on several fronts, including smartphones, tablets, wearables and even laptops.
In 2014, Xiaomi filed an application for registration of the Mi Pad trademark at the European Union Intellectual Property Office,(EUIPO). Apple objected to this application finding that the two names were close enough to confuse the public.
Xiaomi appealed to the General Court of the European Union, which dismissed the appeal based on the following reasoning;
· Visually, the signs at issue display a high degree of similarity because IPAD is entirely reproduced in MI PAD,
· The two signs coincide as to the letter sequence ‘iPad’ and that they differ only as to the presence of the additional letter,‘m’ at the beginning of MI PAD.
· Phonetically, the signs at issue display an average degree of similarity for the English-speaking part of the relevant public… and a high degree of similarity for the non-English-speaking part.
News Source- Fortune
Indeed I can see the likelihood of confusion. What were they thinking?
ReplyDeleteBut if the it had a different name say- My Pad, would reason 1 alone be sufficient for the court to dismiss the appeal. I really need to learn more about Trade mark....
ReplyDeleteI personally don't see this as a case ... It's obvious they are different ... if it was the case of Eye pad... I would understand ... but this???.
ReplyDelete