Apple is widely rumored to be working on a smart wristwatch the media has dubbed "iWatch" - and the company may now be getting its legal ducks in a row, starting in Russia, of all places.
9to5Mac reported Wednesday that Apple Inc. has allegedly filed a trademark application in Russia related to the mythical "iWatch," which many believe to be the company's next hardware category.
According to Russian newspaper Izvestia, Apple filed with the country's Rus sian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) office for a pair of International Classification of Goods and Services (ICGS) trademarks.
The 9th grade of Nice Classification covers computers and computer peripherals, while the 14th is related to "hours" - as in, those on a clock or possibly a wristwatch.
What's in a name?
Apple could face an uphill struggle in registering the term "iWatch" in Russia, a variation of which is already in use with online wristwatch reseller i-watch.ru, who first secured the trademark in 2006.
A Russian patent attorney claims the existing i-watch.ru trademark will need to first be repealed by a court, should Apple want to claim the trademark for their own.
In 2011, an unnamed company attempted to register the term "iWatch" in the 14th class, but Rospatent denied the claim because it conflicted with an earlier mark for "iswatch," a trademark held by the famous Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch AG.
Curiously, the report claims the first registered trademark application for "iWatch" was filed in Jamaica on December 3, 2012 - around the same time the Apple rumor mill really began heating up.
- Find out the latest news on Apple's rumored iWatch
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