Apple secures iPhone trademark

Apple has expanded its trademark on "iPhone" with the inclusion of the US Patent and Trade Office's (USPTO) "category 28," which reads as "handheld unit for playing electronic games." Other USPTO categories included in the trademark are number 9 (mobile phone and digital audio player) and number 38 (electronic data-transmitting device). Note that Apple filed to include category 28 way back in December of 2007, so don't take it as a sign that the next gen iPhone will be a gaming monster.

This news is no great shakes, but an example of Apple covering its bases. For example, back in 2002, Apple applied to register the iPhone trademark in China, but that application was limited to computer hardware and software, not mobile phones. Earlier this year, Apple took control of the "i-phone" trademark in China (yes, "i-phone") from manufacturer Hanwang Technology, who briefly sold a device with that name in 2003 (three years before the iPhone's introduction).

[Via Engadget]
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