Apple is getting sued over its iWatch.
You may have not noticed anything wrong with that sentence, and to be honest it’s hard to fault you if you didn’t. Apple’s smartwatch is actually called the Apple Watch, but hey – it should’ve been the iWatch, right?
Anyway, the iWatch doesn’t exist. But Apple is still facing legal action over it.
Probendi, an Irish software firm has filed legal documents against Apple claiming its use of the term iWatch in Google ads is a violation of trademark.
“Apple has systematically used iWatch wording on Google search engine in order to direct customers to its own website, advertising Apple Watch,” says Probendi.
In other words, Probendi is miffed that Google searches for “iWatch’ return results for the Apple Watch. Of course, companies buying ads that direct customers to their products when related queries are entered is nothing new.
Here’s what Probendi has to say on its website:
The recent public announcement of “Apple Watch”, the new wrist wearable device/smart watch by Apple Inc., has been preceded and followed by persistent rumors identifying said product with the name “iWatch”.
Probendi Limited hereby informs to be the exclusive holder of the Community trademark “iWatch” No. EU007125347, registered for computers and software effective as of August 3, 2008.
Consequently, Probendi Limited is the sole entity lawfully entitled to use the name “iWatch” for products such as “Apple Watch” within the European Union, and will promptly take all appropriate legal actions to oppose any unauthorized use of “iWatch” by whomever for that kind of products.
According to Bloomberg, Probendi is currently working on a product called the iWatch, but it doesn’t exist yet. The company has held the iWatch trademark since 2008, and according to an audit commissioned by Probendi that trademark is worth nearly $100 million.