In 2011 a man called Hayden Crowther applied to register “driphone†as a trade mark for, you guessed it, cases for mobile phones. The “driPhone†had been available for sale in New Zealand since around the time the trade mark application was made. The “driPhone†cases are promoted as being compatible with iPhones, and as Apple does with iPhone, the letter “P†is capitalised.
Apple was not pleased and opposed the “driphone†trade mark application saying it was too similar to its own family of “i†trade marks, not least of all that it included the whole of the “iPhone†trade mark in the word “driphoneâ€.
A hearing was held in October 2013 to determine Apple’s opposition to the trade mark application, and a decision issued on 16 December 2013.
In crushing Apple’s case, the Commissioner of Trade Marks ruled that:
- The suffix “dri†rather than “i†helped distinguish the trade marks.
- The “phone†part of both trade marks is descriptive, or in other words, not a very unique trade mark.
- “i†is also used as an abbreviation for the internet, and not just Apple’s products.
- “dri†is a deliberate misspelling of “dry†and consumers will understand it as referring to the waterproof qualities of the “driphone†rather than thinking it has a connection to Apple’s products.
So the driPhone lives another day … unless Apple successfully appeals the decision to the High Court.