Apple Sued by Phoenix Company Over "iCloud" Name; Local Firm Says It's Been Using It Since 2005

Image: www.geticloud.com

Phoenix-based iCloud Communications has sued Apple in federal court over the use of its name.

​
Phoenix firm iCloud Communications filed an iLawsuit against Apple last week, alleging the computing giant stole its iName.

Apple apparently thinks it has the right to the name, judging by the way it's been marketing the new iCloud service as a free feature of its operating system, iOS5. Apple's iCloud "stores your content and wirelessly pushes it to all your devices," according to Apple's website.

iCloud Communications, which claims it's been using the name since 2005, doesn't do anything quite like that -- but it does deal with computers, at least as they relate to its phone services and products. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court last week, the company's seeking monetary compensation and an injunction against Apple over the use of the name.

Image: www.apple.com

It's iCloudy with a 100 percent chance of lawyers.

​
The local company doesn't appear to have filed an application for a trademark for its name, though the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website states in its FAQs that registering a trademark isn't mandatory to establish rights. The company's domain name, geticloud.com, was created in March of 2005. (Apple reportedly paid $4.5 million to another company for the www.icloud.com domain.)

A friend of ours once said he's hoping for the eventual creation of iPeople to replace all those annoying folks constantly checking their iPhones and playing with their iPads and iPods.

We're just hoping someone comes up with different product names before we lose our iMinds.
 

iMcCloud

​