The Brazilian electronics manufacturer IGB Eletronica Tuesday launched a
line of smartphones it is calling the "IPHONE", claiming that it owns
the intellectual property rights to that name in this country.
IGB
Eletronica, which manufacturers products with the Gradiente brand name,
announced in a regulatory filing that since 2008 it has possessed the
rights in Brazil to the name "IPHONE", which Apple uses for its product,
the world's best-known mobile smartphone.
The firm also announced
that it will take the necessary measures to ensure that its brand
rights in Brazil are respected although it did not specify whether that
includes filing a lawsuit to prevent Apple from using the name in the
South American country.
The Brazilian company said in its
communique that Gradiente Tuesday began selling the Neo One, the first
model in its line of smartphones, in Brazil.
IGB claimed that in
2000 it applied to register the IPHONE name with Brazil's National
Industrial Property Institute and that the license was granted on Jan 2,
2008.
The cell phone with the IPHONE brand name being offered by
Gradiente on its web page features a 3.7-inch touch-sensitive screen,
dual-sim capabilities, 3G, Wi-Fi and bluetooth and it uses Google's
Android 2.3 operating system.