Mises Wire

Hypocritical Apple (Trademark)

Hypocritical Apple (Trademark)

Hypocrisy in the area of IP is nothing new. The latest example: Apple denies that its use of "iPhone" infringes Cisco's trademark in iPhone, calling the trademark suit "silly". My view: unfortunately, Cisco is probably right that Apple will very likely lose if this goes to court. But note that Apple calls the claim silly (and also fought hard against trademark infringement-related claims by Apple Corps.)—the same Apple that is itself slapping podcasters and others with cease and desist letters, claiming, for example, that "the terms 'Podcast Ready' and 'myPodder' infringe Apple's trademarks, and that they cause confusion among consumers. The company has been cracking down on use of the word 'pod' by all sorts of parties, even though its trademark is for the word 'iPod.'" To paraphrase Judy Tenuta, "Suffer, Apple, Suffer!"

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