Apple’s cloud based service, iCloud hasn’t even publicly launched yet and has managed to attract a lawsuit for the company. Arizona based iCloud communications has filed a lawsuit against Apple for stealing their iCloud brand, which in court documents they have claimed to be using since the past five years.
Steve Jobs announced the iCloud services at WWDC 2011 and made them available for developers on that very day. However, publicly, iCloud will be shipped concurrent to the iOS 5 in Fall 2011.
In the documents filed by iCloud Communications, the company claims that it spends tens of thousands of dollars annually in regional, national and international, electronic, print and other advertising to promote its goods and services using the iCloud marks and logo. Primarily, iCloud communications is a VoIP equipment provider, however, in the documents, it also claims to be a cloud computing company.
So why would iCloud communications particularly feel threatened by Apple stealing its iCloud brand? Well, for one, Apple has a phenomenal following and people will now only associate the iCloud brand with Apple and not with iCloud communications which basically came up with this brand back in 2005. Hence resulting in potential monetary losses for this company.
iCloud communications has pleaded to the court to destroy all marketing material related to Apple iCloud, make the company pay damages to them, and to even invalidate the iCloud trademark that Apple purchased from Xcericon, a swedish cloud based computing firm.
While Apple may have already been served a notice by the court, there is no doubt that the legal team at Apple is working at full swing to resort this issue. An out of court settlement of this case is also possible, as Apple would certainly not want to get the image of its yet to be released service, tarnished.
More updates on the Apple vs iCloud communications lawsuit, as it develops. Stay tuned.
Just another thing for apple to steal, and then throw money at the REAL creators, just so they can continue bragging about how apple DEVELOPS today’s cutting age technology
@FuckApple: dude, it’s about the name, that other company just delivers a VoIP service. I don’t see how that’s stealing from the real developers.
@Fuck Apple, and by the way…. even the name (iCloud) is an apple style name….and please stop bein jealous..