After Samsung, it might be a Dublin based firm that could be posing ‘hard times’ for Apple. Enough hullabaloo has already been created for Apple’s iWatch, yet there’s a small loophole in its fool-proof marketing plan that Apple might have overlooked.
If you try to Google ‘iWatch’, the top result is definitely a paid ad by Apple. Apple pays Google for the advertisements so it doesn't miss out on potential customers who entered the wrong product name. But a small Dublin-based company, which owns the iWatch trademark in Europe, is hoping the ads will cost Apple a lot more, according to a news report by Bloomberg.
Probendi, an Irish software development studio, filed an urgent procedure on June 26 with a court in Milan protesting Apple's use of the term. "Apple has systematically used iWatch wording on Google search engine in order to direct customers to its own website, advertising Apple Watch," the document says.
Over the years, many companies, including American Airlines, Geico, and Rosetta Stone, have tried to take on Google or its advertisers in court over trademark issues, often unsuccessfully. Google's policy for its ad service says it evaluates trademark complaints on a case-by-case basis and "may enforce certain restrictions", informs the news report.
Giacomo Bonelli, a lawyer for Probendi told Bloomberg, "Apple never replied to our requests and objections, while Google said they are not responsible for links."
Probendi co-founder Daniele Di Salvo said that they had warned Apple against using the term. He also said the company was working on a smartwatch that would undercut the Apple Watch in price, run Google's Android software, and carry the name iWatch. Di Salvo says the project is "in standby."