Apple has registered in Ukraine trademark unusual – the shape of the tablet. About it reports the local edition Bigmir.net, which demonstrated, by way of the California giant has acquired exclusive rights to the design of the tablet and for what purpose he can use it in the country.
The rights to a new trademark Apple will start to operate on the territory of Ukraine from October 12. Under the image of the brand fits virtually any tablet, regardless of the color of the shell or the diagonal of its screen.
As told to the resource, a senior lawyer law firm AstapovLawyers Ilarion Tomarov, the registration of the document has a curious history. “The original application Apple filed back in 2010 in Jamaica instead of the traditional USA. And already on its basis applied in several countries, including the United States itself,” says Tomarov. In Ukraine such application was filed only in April 2015.
According Tomarova in the U.S. after a lengthy review of Apple’s application was refused. In his opinion, grounds for refusal could be lack of distinctiveness for the goods that don’t look like an iPad. That is the trade mark did not contain exclusively the unique characteristics of the product. Her description fit any similar device from other manufacturers.
On the market tablet sales in Ukraine, the share of Apple has declined significantly in recent three years, says marketing Director of one of the major retail chains, who wished to remain anonymous. “If before there was the iPad and everything else, now on the tablet of the U.S. company accounts for around 3% of market share in volume (or about 2 000 a month). But the leaders in this segment are Samsung and Lenovo, that sell 60 000 units a month”, – said the interlocutor of the edition.
Lawyers are unanimous that Apple will use a new certificate for the General appearance of the tablet to displace competitors. “This TM is registered, the company will receive not only the rights to use this image, but also to prohibit its use by other companies. Of course, such a monopoly may not like other manufacturers of tablets,” says Director of patent law company IPStyle, patent attorney Mariya ortinska. Managing partner of the law firm Juscutum legal advisers company Artem Afian, in turn, believes that if Apple and will be used in Ukraine the new TM as a prohibition of goods, then it will happen indirectly.
According to experts, to cancel this certificate is now in court, as he already has a room. And, as we know, a very long and painful process with obligatory passage of at least two courts (trial and appeal).
