Just a week after Apple announced its iCloud offering, the company has been sued over the service.
An Arizona- based company named iCloud Communications alleged its brand had been damaged thanks to Apple’s launch.
Furthermore, iCloud Communications, which filed a suit in the US District Court in Arizona, claimed Apple’s iCloud offered many similar services.
“The goods and services with which Apple intends to use the ‘iCloud’ mark are identical to or closely related to the goods and services that have been offered by iCloud Communications under the iCloud Marks since its formation in 2005,” the Arizona firm claimed in its filing, first seen by The Next Web.
“However, due to the worldwide media coverage given to and generated by Apple’s announcement of its ‘iCloud’ services and the ensuing saturation advertising campaign pursued by Apple, the media and the general public have quickly come to associate the mark ‘iCloud’ with Apple, rather than iCloud Communications.”
The company alleged Apple “was aware of or was willfully blind to iCloud Communications’ use of and rights in the iCloud Marks."
Apple has been involved in a number of legal tangles with other tech firms over naming issues.
Just recently, it has been attempting to ensure the App Store name cannot be used by other companies – something rival Microsoft has expressed dismay at.
“Apple's announcement of and the launch of its advertising campaign for its iCloud service have so thoroughly swamped the reputation of iCloud Communications and the goodwill it had built up over the years in the iCLoud Marks that is likely to cause – and has actually caused – confusion among consumers of cloud computing services and members of the general public as to the source of the parties’ goods and services,” iCloud Communications added.
At the time of publication, Apple had not responded to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
This article originally appeared at itpro.co.uk
