Apple Applies for a Stronger Trademark in China
PatentlyApple has just reported that Apple has applied for a figurative trademark for the Smart Cover under International Classes 9 and 18, which covers things like cases, sleeves and pouches for computers and business cases.
Apple has already applied for trademark of the name Smart Cover in the US, Europe and China, but in an effort to curb copycat replicas of this specific case, they are applying for a trademark of the actual cover.
9to5Mac reports that the figurative trademark is stronger. Quoting the Patent & Trademark Office, a figurative trademark, “confers the exclusive right to the trademark in its concrete figurative version, whereas a word trademark confers the exclusive right to the word(s) in any font with or without figurative elements.”
Apple is asking that the Smart Cover’s trademark include the configuration of a protective case. Submitted with the application was a diagram of the Smart Cover and a statement by Apple that the three dimensional shapes, as shown in the representation above, are an element of the trademark.
