Apple iPad Tablet Trademark Name Faces Court Charges

Since the day the Apple's iPad tablet was launched, it already attracted some legal suits from companies due to its controversial name. It will not be surprising to know that the "iPad" name is not original from Apple. It's been allegedly known that Apple has a record for stealing names and other trademarks.

In Japan, Fujitsu has released a phone called Fujitsu iPad. It's a computing gadget made available in the market last 2002. It got Wi-Fi capabilities, Bluetooth technology and supports Voice over IP. The Fujitsu iPad has 3.5 inch screen in color with touch screen features and has an Intel processor chip. 

When Fujitsu released their iPad, it costs $2,000 compared to Apple's iPad for only $499. The Fujitsu iPad was commonly used by retail store clerks to keep track of their inventory records. 

New York Times said that back in 2003, Fujitsu wants the name back until today but another company already applied for the name "iPad" in that year.  It just means that the name iPad is not new at all and there's some who use the name out there before the iPad was released. 

In the first quarter of 2009, The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office declared the Fujitsu's trademark application as abandoned. The company made a reopening of the application, June last year.

From the beginning of re-instatement of Fujitsu's application, Apple is already doing it way to get the trademark for the name "iPad" through proxy. Petitions have been filed and Apple has until February 28, 2010 to answer the charges of Fujitsu  While the two companies are in the battle, there are some products out there which use the trademark "iPad".

A Canadian lingerie company called Coconut Grove Intimates, motors and engines by a German technology which is Siemens and a tablet computer made by ST Microelectronics is also using the name "iPad". 

Would this create havoc to the legality of the controversial name of Apple's tablet?