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Digital
Apple registers iWatch trademark in Japan and Russia
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 2 July 2013
It has emerged that Apple has applied for the trademark iWatch in Japan, and possibly Russia too, heightening speculation that the IT giant has a smart-watch in development, in a bold move to bring Solitaire and cat photos to your wrist.
Although some have pointed out that the name could also be utilised for a streaming video service, Apple boss Tim Cook has previously hinted that some sort of wearable net-connected device was in development.
Of course Apple has struggled to secure i-prefixed trademarks for some its more recent product launches, with key marks often already registered in key territories; and while sometimes a large cheque can solve that problem, other times you have a brand as established as ITV in the UK, which makes iTV impossible.
It’s already been noted that there is already an Italian company using the iWatch mark, which will likely make registering the name in Europe tricky.
