Fujitsu’s iPad

IPad? That’s So 2002, Fujitsu Says

Excerpt:

Sold mainly in the United States, the multifunctional device from the Tokyo technology company helps shop clerks verify prices, check real-time inventory data and close sales on the go.

Fujitsu, which applied for an iPad trademark in 2003, is claiming first dibs, setting up a fight with Apple over the name of the new tablet device that Apple plans to sell starting in March.

“It’s our understanding that the name is ours,” Masahiro Yamane, director of Fujitsu’s public relations division, said Thursday. He said Fujitsu was aware of Apple’s plans to sell the iPad tablet and that the company was consulting lawyers over next steps.

Fujitsu’s iPad, which runs on Microsoft’s CE.NET operating system, has a 3.5-inch color touchscreen, an Intel processor and Wi-fi and Bluetooth connections; it also supports VoIP telephone calls over the Internet, a technology also used by Skype.

“Mobile is a keyword for Fujitsu’s iPad, too,” Mr. Yamane said. “With the iPad, workers don’t have to keep running back to a computer. They have everything right at their fingertips.”

Fujitsu Says it Owns Rights to 'iPad' Name, Not Apple

Excerpt:

In early 2009, Fujitsu's trademark application was declared abandoned by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but the company re-opened its application in June. Since the re-instatement of the Fujitsu application, Apple has been trying to take it away (via proxy) — in fact, they've filed three petitions to extend the deadline. Apple now has until Feb. 28 to oppose Fujitsu's claims.

And it looks the gauntlet's been thrown — according to the Wall Street Journal , Fujitsu is consulting lawyers over the next steps, as it is the company's understanding that the name is Fujitsu's.

Comment: See my next post for weirdness about the IPad name and a devastating critique of Apple's IPad