Apple may settle iCloud trademark lawsuit says legal expert

Apple may settle a trademark lawsuit with iCloud Communications according to patent and trademark lawyer Brad Salai of Harter Secrest & Emery law firm. Apple was slapped with a trademark infringement lawsuit following its big iCloud announcement at WWDC last week. The company, iCloud Communications LLC, claims part of its business focuses on cloud computing, and Apple's new service is confusingly similar.

It's an interesting lawsuit from a legal standpoint. Apple has filed 11 applications for the iCloud trademark and purchased the right to an existing trademark as well as the domain iCloud.com from Xcerion.

A USPTO database search suggests iCloud Communications has not registered for the iCloud trademark. It also uses geticloud.com for its domain. The Arizona company will have to argue that it has a common law right to use the trademark.

In Salai's opinion, Apple will likely settle a small lawsuit to get iCloud Communications out of the way. If the Arizona company pushes for a large monetary settlement that prevents Apple from using the iCloud name, the Cupertino company will take its chances in court.

[Via The Loop]