Rio De Janeiro: Brazil's copyright regulator on Wednesday stripped Apple Inc of the right to use its iPhone trademark in that country, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Wednesday.
The agency that oversees patents in Brazil said Gradiente Electronica SA, a Brazilian consumer electronics maker, already owned the rights to the iPhone name, according to the report.
Apple will be able to challenge the ruling in the Brazilian courts.
Gradiente Electronica registered the \"iphone\" name in 2000, seven years before Apple launched its popular smartphone.
Earlier this month, sources told Reuters that the regulator, the Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property, was likely to make the decision that Apple did not have the rights to the trademark.
Gradiente Electronica registered the "iphone" name in 2000, seven years before Apple launched its popular smartphone.
A spokesperson for Apple in the United States was not immediately available to comment.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
We could see bodies floating in the Ganga: Uttarakhand flood survivor
Watch: Kedarnath shrine submerged in mud as flood ravages the area
Watch: Cars swept away as floods wreak havoc in Uttarakhand
Yamuna level set to rise over 207 metres, highest in 35 years
Live: 5,000 missing in Gaurikund, Kedarnath helipad destroyed in floods
Uttarakhand: Over 100 dead; toll may rise with 500 still missing
Yamuna level set to rise over 207 metres, highest in 35 years
JD(U) trust vote live: BJP walks out of Bihar Assembly
