The iPod touch is not shipping yet but it could already be stirring up some trouble between Apple and HTC. At the heart of the matter is the name Touch which HTC also uses for its HTC Touch mobile phone unveiled back in early June. Upon hearing of the name of the new iPod, HTC president and CEO Peter Chou said, “HTC Touch is a trademark, but I can’t comment right now,” on whether HTC might file suit against the company.
Trademark applications for “HTC Touch” and “Touch by HTC” were filed by HTC with the United States Patent and Trademark Office earlier this summer.
According to a trademark lawyer in Taipei, descriptive words normally cannot be trademarked but the fact that the HTC Touch and iPod touch share a number of common functionalities could make the case more interesting.