Apple has lost a legal grapple with a local leather company over the iPhone trademark. (Photo : Getty Images)
Apple plans to bring its case against a leather company to China’s highest court in the wake of a Beijing court ruling against their exclusive use of the “iPhone” trademark.
In a statement, Apple told the South China Morning Post that the company is not giving up the fight and will attempt to request a retrial from the Supreme People's Court.
"We intend to request a retrial with the Supreme People's Court and will continue to vigorously protect our trademark rights," the company declared on Thursday.
According to China.org, the smartphone manufacturer reported of a breach of the trademark rules to the country's trademark authority in 2014, citing that a leather company has been branding the widely known Apple brand "IPHONE" into their leather products.
However, the authority ruled against Apple, prompting the American firm to file a lawsuit in a lower court in Beijing.
After that did not turn out as they wanted, the iPhone maker proceeded to file a case at the Beijing Municipal High People's Court, which recently ruled against them as well.
Because of this, Apple cannot currently use the brand "iPhone" in their smartphone in China as the Beijing-based leather company Xintong Tiandi Technology currently holds the trademark rights.
According to analysts, Apple's situation reflects China's current position on Western countries' products as well as the Asian giant's approach to trademark protection.
"Apple's trademark woes in China are typical of those faced by other Western brands, and are symptomatic of China's approach to trademark protection," Pinsent Masons law firm partner Paul Haswell explained to SCMP.
According to Haswell, China's intellectual property protection is "fatally flawed."
"The system allows so-called trademark trolls to keep a close eye on brands which are successful outside of China, register trademarks associated with that brand in China, and then hope either to profit off their goodwill or achieve a large cash settlement with the brand itself," he explained.
