iPad name giving Apple heartache in Brazil
For most of the world, the iPad is seen as a spiffy new tablet computer worthy of fawning adoration, but in Brazil the device is capable of jolting hearts -- literally.
To Apple's chagrin, the name "iPad" is already registered in Brazil to denote a South Korean-made defibrillator used in hospitals.
The Brazilian company that sells the heart-starting iPads, Transform Tecnologia de Ponta, based in Sao Paulo, told AFP on Monday that it has been selling the units for more than two years and registered the name with Brazil's National Industrial Property Institute (INPI) in 2009.
"No one has been in contact with us about the iPad name," the company's sales chief, Alathea Silva, said.
She said a Brazilian law firm was working to protect brand names sold by her firm, but added that the iPad issue would probably be handled by the Korean company which makes the defibrillator, CU Medical Systems Inc.
The website of CU Medical Systems shows the IPAD NF1200 (www.cu911.com/eng/pro/sub_01_01.php), calling it a "semi-automated external defibrillator" that gives voice prompts to users.
That cardiac-corrective function is apparently beyond the capabilities of Apple's iPad, despite Apple CEO Steve Jobs calling his device a "truly magical" product.
A Brazilian newspaper, Folha de Sao Paulo, said Apple was trying to register the iPad name for itself with Brazil's INPI through a representative company calling itself IP Application Development.
That front company has lodged a request to have the name transferred from the Brazilian company by a deadline of the end of May. If the bid fails, the newspaper said Apple would likely have to buy the iPad name.
(c) 2010 AFP
