Following a win in a legal case, a smartphone company called Gradiente in Brazil has started selling their smartphones which go by the brand name ‘iPhone’. Ironically, the smartphone runs on Android, which is owned by Google, Apple’s arch rival.
A request had been filed way back in 2000 by Gradiente requesting to be allowed to use the iPhone brand upon realizing the possibility of a revolution of sorts in the mobile phone industry following the convergence of voice and data transmission and reception through the internet on mobile handsets. Later in 2008, Gradiente was granted permission by the Brazilian government to use the brand name for its smartphones. According to Maratan Marques, spokeswoman at the trademark office in Brazil, Gradiente had approached them seeking to use the brand name before Apple and therefore has exclusive rights to do so until 2018.
According to Gradiente’s website, their iPhones were being made available Tuesday onwards, for a price of $300. The smartphones runs on Android 2.3, has a 3.7 inch touch screen display, dual SIM Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, camera and 3G coverage. Appearance wise, it is similar to the iPhone by Apple. Gradiente pointed out that they had refrained from using the brand name until now as concluding a corporate restructuring process, which ended earlier in 2012, was their priority. As of now, they have exclusive rights to use the brand name in Brazil and the company is looking forward to protecting their intellectual property rights using several measures, like other companies across the world.
As for Apple, the company did not have a comment to make on the issue at hand, confirmed Maria Parra Rodriguez, the spokeswoman for Apple in Brazil. No response was met from the headquarters of the company in California either. If a company official is to be believed, Apple has not yet made a move contesting Gradiente’s right to use the brand name. Similarly, it is unclear if Gradiente itself will make a move trying to stop the sales of Apple’s iPhones in Brazil.
