Move over, GooPhone I5 — you’ve got some competition in the iPhone knockoff market! Reuters reports that Brazilian company IGB Eletronica SA plans to start selling a line of Android-based smartphones under the “IPHONE” brand that the company successfully copyrighted more than a decade ago. What’s interesting about this particular copyright is that the name “IPHONE” is in all capital letters, so it’s not entirely clear whether Apple (AAPL) would be vulnerable to legal challenges for selling its similarly-named iPhone in Brazil. At the same time, it’s pretty clear that Apple will have no choice by to let IGB brand its devices as IPHONEs since Reuters reports that the company “applied for exclusive rights in Brazil to register its products under the name IPHONE in 2000.”
Brazilian company releases the ‘IPHONE’ after trademarking the name back in 2000
Published Dec 19th, 2012 11:59PM EST
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Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.
