The Brazilian company that owns the legal right to the name iPhone in the country is now selling its own iPhone, running the Android operating system.
Gradiente claims it filed its request for the iPhone brand name with the Brazilian Government back in 2000 when it realized: “There would be a technological revolution in the world of cellphones with the convergence of voice and data transmission and reception via mobile Internet.”
This was seven years before Apple launched the iPhone, for which Apple filed the trademark in 2006.
According to an Associated Press report, Brazilian trademark office spokeswoman Maratan Marques said Gradiente requested permission to use the brand before Apple did. Not only that, the company has the exclusive right to use it through 2018.
The Gradiente iPhone went on sale on Wednesday for $300. The iPhone Neo One runs Android 2.3 and has a 3.7in screen. Most notably, its appearance is similar to that of the Apple iPhone, with curved edges, and black or white options.
Apple has already failed to stop sales of the iFone in Mexico, notes The Verge.
However, Apple has acquired the iOS trademark from Cisco and the iPHONE trademark for iPad from Proview.
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Author: Karen Haslam, Editor
Macworld editor since 2008, Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld two decades ago.
Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple.