We’ve known for a little while that Apple is trying to launch a music streaming service of its own, reportedly called iRadio, that will rival the likes of Pandora and Spotify. According to The Verge’ssources, Apple may be extremely close to securing a music streaming licensing agreement with Universal Music Group next week. The same sources say that Warner Music an Apple are very close to securing a deal as well.
As a long-time Apple (AAPL) user who doesn’t spend much time worrying about viruses, trojans and other malware, I’ve never had a lot of confidence in the reports issued periodically by computer security companies. They always seemed to be in the protection racket, trying to scare users into buying their anti-viral software.
But a pair of recent reports got me thinking.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has provisionally denied Apple’s trademark application for “iPad Mini” because the term is “merely descriptive” of the tablet’s size.
Notice of the rejection was mailed to Apple on Jan. 25, but was only made public in the last week, according to Patently Apple, which first reported on the decision.
The iPad Mini was launched last October, and went on sale in early November at prices starting at $329. Apple filed for the trademark Nov. 15, 2012.
In denying the application, the USPTO said the examining attorney decided, “The wording merely describes a feature of applicant’s goods, namely, a small sized handheld tablet computer.” Elsewhere in the letter, the agency cited prior cases, including one that said the word “mini” was just a label for “goods that are produced and sold in miniature form.”
The USPTO concluded that, “The mark is merely descriptive of a feature or characteristic of the goods and registration is refused.”
It was not a final rejection, however, as Apple has until July 24 to respond to the ruling with counter-arguments or additional evidence to show why iPad Mini should be granted a registered trademark.
“iPad,” of course, is a U.S. registered trademark owned by Apple; the Cupertino, Calif., company bought the rights to the U.S. trademark from Fujitsu in March 2010 for an undisclosed amount. Apple has also registered iPad in several foreign countries.
But the company has encountered resistance at times. Last summer, for example, Apple paid $60 million for the Chinese trademark after a little-known company there claimed it was the owner. In that dispute, Apple had contended it had purchased the Chinese trademark — from the same firm, Proview — in 2009.
Maker of mapping applications for mobile devices WiFiSlam has been acquired by tech giant Apple.
Originally reported by the Wall Street Journal, the deal was quoted based on a “person familiar with the matter.” A spokesperson later confirmed the acquisition, saying that Apple “buys smaller technology companies from time to time,” but declined to discuss the matter further.
Apple’s iOS appears to still have a hold over the global enterprise mobile market, but Android is quickly gaining ground overseas, based on a new report from Citrix.
According to Citrix’s Q4 Enterprise Mobility Cloud Report, 58 percent of the devices worldwide running Citrix’s enterprise mobility management service were iOS.
Rumors that Apple and Samsung are working on wearable computers have reached a fever pitch. Truth is, consumers don’t need or want such gadgets.
Over the past few years, tech giants Apple and Google have emerged as dominant forces in the mobile-technology market. Although they’ve pursued radically different strategies, each company has been wildly successful: Apple generates $1 billion per month on iPhone sales, while Google’s Android operating system has racked up massive global market-share gains. Now, both companies face a rising threat from South Korean electronics titan Samsung, which has surged to become the largest handsetmaker in the world. Samsung appears poised to intensify competition in the mobile space, and that could benefit consumers.
