Apple loses Trademark case over iPhone name in China.

Apple lost a trademark case in China, against Xintong Tiandi , which means  the Chinese firm which sells handbags and other leather good can continue to use the name “iPhone” legally.

The Beijing Municipal High People;s Court ruled in favour of Xintong Tiandi Technology according to official Legal Daily newspaper.

Xintong Tiandi trademarked “IPHONE” for leather products in China in 2010. Apple filed a trademark bid for the name for electronic goods in 2002 but was not approved until 2013. Xintong Tiandi sells handbags, mobile phone cases and other leather goods branded with the name “IPHONE” and the ® registered trademark symbol.

Apple  first brought the case against the company to the Chinese trademark authority in 2012, then when that failed, filed a lawsuit in a lower Beijing court. But both ruled against Apple, so it appealed to the higher court which ruled that Apple could not prove it was a well-known brand in China before Xintong Tiandi filed its trademark application in 2007. Apple Phones first went on sale in China in2009.