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iPod, iPhone

, iMac and now iPad – iApple has managed to set a trend in naming their devices. No wonder the letter ‘i’ has become synonymous with Apple, but now, Apple has been dealt a severe blow having been told that it no longer has a monopoly on the letter “i” as part of the name for its products.

dopi-ipod

An Australian trademarks tribunal has rejected Apple’s bid to stop a small company, manufacturing laptop bags and cases for Apple products, called DOPi from trademarking its name since Apple believed DOPi is way too similar to iPOD, Apple’s popular portable music player.

Apple has always been known for its over-zealous legal team plunging on any individual or company it sees as infringing on its copyright and trademarks (who turn blind eye when Apple itself crosses the line with trademarked names like iPhone and iPad).

Apple argued that punters might be confused into thinking that they were buying an Apple product because of the letter ‘i’ in DOPi, but the tribunal said, Apple overlooked the fact that there were already a large number of products that have the “i” prefix, for example iSkin and iSoft to name just two, all of which are operating in the same class of electronic goods as Apple.

Of-course this doesn’t mean end of all legal battles pertaining to Apple trademarks, but is surely a huge dent to Apple’s legal team’s reputation.