Well that didn’t take long. In a suit filed yesterday in the US Disctrict Court in Arizona, a company named iCloud Communications, LLC has claimed trademark infringements against Apple over the use of the name iCloud.
While I’m no legal expert, it does appear that Apple has some explaining to do. Specifically, iCloud Communications is claiming that Apple’s heavy promotion of the iCloud product is damaging to its business and has all but removed the branding of the name from itself and placed it onto Apple.
To make matters somewhat worse, there’s some accusation that Apple’s services are nearly identical to the ones being offered by iCloud Communciations:
The goods and services with which Apple intends to use the “iCloud” mark are identical to or closely related to the goods and services that have been offered by iCloud Communications under the iCloud Marks since its formation in 2005. However, due to the worldwide media coverage given to and generated by Apple’s announcement of its “iCloud” services and the ensuing saturation advertising campaign pursued by Apple, the media and the general public have quickly come to associate the mark “iCloud” with Apple, rather than iCloud Communications.
The suit goes on to talk about different times in wich apple has been “willful” in trademark infringement in the past. It specifically mentions The Beatles, McIntosh Labs stereo equipment and the cartoon character Mighty Mouse.
There’s no specific amount of monetary relief set, but the suit does call for “all profits, gains and advantages” as well as “all monetary damages sustained”. Further, the suit asks for Apple to refrain from using the iCloud name and to “deliver for destruction all labels, signs, prints, insignia, letterhead, brochures, business cards, invoices and any other written or recorded material” with the iCloud name.
We’ve embedded the suit below, for your legal browsing pleasures. My huge thanks to TNW’s Matt Brian for grabbing it for us.















apple could pay to buy the name, but it could totally change that by naming the icloud “iSky” I mean, why only one cloud and not the whole sky? am i crazy?
and they could say “we are moving from one cloud to the whole sky, bigger and better!”
@Rob P. The sky. It’s truly magical!
they won’t do that either….
to close to a name of a microsoft cloud product….. sky drive.
I’m in no way making fun of apple or saying anything bad about them…. but, if apple sued a 17 year old kid for making white iPhone conversion kits (poor kid), then isn’t it just that someone would sue them for this? Come on apple! What goes around comes around!
What’s interesting here is that putting the ‘i’ was a trend started by Apple. Seeing as iCloud registered their domain in 2005 (dunno when they started trading but I bet it wasn’t before the iPod) I wonder if they are just chancers.
“the media and the general public have quickly come to associate the mark “iCloud” with Apple, rather than iCloud Communications.”
Anything with ‘i’ at the front of it is already associated to Apple!
I’ve just checked their website, they are a VOIP service? The site also looks like a free WordPress template from 2006. These guys are riding the wave
http://geticloud.com
@Murat Mutlu The original iPod and iMac were previous to 2005, weren’t they?
iHeaven? After all, Steve Jobs might as well be the Cult of Apple’s personal Jesus. @Rob P.
@Brad McCarty @Murat Mutlu Easily.
@Rob P. No, it might also be iSync.
@Murat Mutlu
Speaking of “i” – I liked your comment and it reminded me of the BMW I once owned which featured iDrive. I googled it and found out iDrive was “Demonstrated at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September of 1999 and put into production in 2001.” I learned several new things today thanks to you :)
iMac – 1997. iPod – 2001. iPhone – 2007.
iCloud Communications sells VoIP services, which makes them competitors of Skype, Vonage, and Cisco, not Apple.
Apple bought iCloud.com which had been around for years, not sued by iCloud Communications. Their website — geticloud.com — is ranked >9,000,000 by Alexa, so exactly what business was there to be damaged is questionable.
I think you need to read the full story about the 17 year old kid.
@Alex Giron
You didn’t say why you think I need to read the full story? I actually just re-read it and I can’t seem to make any connection between what you say and why. You left out a reason for what you say.
too lame in my opinion, they could sued the previous icloud.com owners (cloudme.com now) when they owned it via UDRP and got the domain if they really own the trademark icloud.com
somebody seems wanna harm apple just for the sake because they’re apple
although i’m not a fan of apple but still this is too lame
Look If apple owned iCloud and I wanted to open a shop called ICloud Communication, I don’t see apple having a problem with that.
FAST & PROMPT DELIVERY GUARANTEE!! — w w w . betterwholesaler.us —- Cheap. Hot sale. Discount – BEST QUALITY GUARANTEE!!
========== (w w w).( b ett e rw ho l es a l er. ).u s ====== BEST QUALITY GUARANTEE!! Great convenience to online shopping lower p r i c e fast shi p p m e n t with higher q u a l i t y ,
Apple transcends trademark law…. Or rather, they couldn’t care less. They’ll use a previously-owned trademark and just settle the lawsuit. Then they get the trademark. Or did no one remember the same brouhaha with the iPhone TM? Apple is one of the biggest tech companies in the world. If the TM isn’t owned by Microsoft, IBM, or Google, they can afford to infringe it.
@tonycerdais@yahoo.com @Alex Giron he didn’t make the kits, he bought stolen goods from a connection at foxconn. The faceplates were the property of apple. Get it?
@alex
Oh! Got it! Just so you know why I din’t understand… the article I read said he had a connection to someone who supplied the parts for apple and he was able to get them to manufacture the white kits for him. Thanks.
Nope… iUniverse is clearly the way to go. I mean, imagine it. “The whole Universe, to store your data”. Incredible!
Duh.
All you have to do is to go to the US Patents and Trademarks Office website and search for “iCloud”.
There you will find that Apple OWNS 12 of the 13 TRADEMARK REGISTRATIONS FOR ICLOUD. THUS, APPLE OWNS THE TRADEMARK FOR “iCloud”. Period.
iCloud Communications DOES NOT OWN any trademark for “iCloud”. If anything, Apple has the right to sue iCloud for using Apple’s “iCloud” trademark.
Seriously? Did you not go past the first page of their website?
At the top of the page there is a link to “data center website”… http://www.geticloud.com/datacenter if that is easier for you…
THey have been in business since 1985.
if Apple will lose the sue [ http://www.tptbh.com ] it should seek another name for its cloud service … the hunt is open!
Obviously you did not even read thier court filing. As stated on page 4;
“14. iCloud Communications spends tens of thousands of dollars annually—inexcess of several hundreds of thousand of dollars since its formation in 2005—inregional, national and international, electronic, print and other advertising to promote itsgoods and services using the following marks and logos (the “ iCloud Marks). ”
So what makes you think they have been in business since 1985? Is it because it says they have developed a distingueshed track record since 1985? Read between the lines. That is a way to generate trust. Someone likely worked for AT&T in 1985. And THIER Datacenter is actually owned by Corelink.
Let me guess, you also believe the government invaded Iraq because they had WMD.
Get a life.
Doesn’t Apple own the trademark of the starting little “i” in brand names? I have read this somewhere. And if so, this means iCloud has broken a patent of Apple. Maybe Apple can sue iCloud… :)There are so many companies that use the i in their names because Apple has made it “cool”.
Doesn’t Apple own the trademark of the starting little “i” in brand names? I have read this somewhere. And if so, this means iCloud has broken a patent of Apple. Maybe Apple can sue iCloud… :)There are so many companies that use the i in their names because Apple has made it “cool”.