Apple Loses Legal Claim to ‘iPhone’ in Mexico!

It looks like Apple’s bully-boy legal tactics have backfired in Mexico. Apple fired a lawsuit at a Mexican telecoms company over their use of the ‘iFone’ trademark for being too similar to ‘iPhone’ and therefore invalid, but they have come royally unstuck. This is because iFone was registered way back in 2003, a full four years before Apple registered ‘iPhone’ in 2007. So, how can Apple possibly win such a lawsuit? They can’t and probably hoped that they other firm would just cave in. However, they fought back with a countersuit and have been winning every round ever since.

Apple have been denied an injunction that would have allowed them to sell their iPhone in Mexico, which would also affect the marketing plans of several carriers. It gets worse though, because their opponent also is also suing for damages for past infringements, demanding a minimum of 40% of sales to date in the Mexican market. The iPhone 5 is due to go on sale in Mexico tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see if they cave in and pay the damages demanded.