It looks like Apple still has not resolved the issue over the iPhone name here in Canada. This issue is not new; it surfaced as soon as people started to wonder when the Apple iPhone would come to Canada. Comwave owns the Canadian trademark rights to the name “iPhone” and uses it for VoIP services and products.
Comwave has filed a motion opposing Apple’s trademark application with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). An agreement similar to what Apple reached with Cisco does not appear to be in the cards here as Comwave president Yuval Barzakay feels that Apple’s marketing efforts would simply overwhelm their own. “The force they put into marketing would quickly make the brand Apple’s and not ours,” he said.
Barzakay feels that this can only be resolved in one of two ways: Apple gives up on its Canadian trademark or buys it from Comwave. I guess the only thing left to decide is how much Apple will pay (and assuming that it comes to terms with Rogers to offer it Canada)…