Apple, IGB 'close to settlement' on Brazilian 'iPhone' trademark lawsuit

Apple is close to reaching a settlement for the "iPhone" trademark in Brazil, according to Forbes. The company has been locked in a lawsuit with Brazilian company IGB Electronica, which was granted the Brazilian iPhone trademark in 2007. IGB originally applied for the iPhone trademark in 2000. Since 2007, it has been selling a smartphone by the name of "Iphone" under its G-Gradiente brand. The phone runs the Android OS.

Forbes notes that Brazil's largest newspaper, Folha de São Paulo, reported on Saturday that the two companies have entered into a "Pacific agreement," which will see lawsuits between them temporarily halted. Forbes speculates that Apple will pay millions of dollars for the exclusive rights to the iPhone trademark in Brazil, just like it has in other countries around the world.