After the iTunes Movies and iBooks debacle, Apple seems to be having more problems in China. The technology giant has lost a case it initiated to get an injunction against the use of the name 'iPhone' by a leather goods company called Xintong Tiandi Technology.

The Beijing Municipal High People's Court ruled that Xintong Tiandi Technology may continue using the 'iPhone' trademark for its products. The company is engaged in the business of selling leather goods such as handbags and phone cases with 'iPhone' and the 'R' registered trademark symbol.

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Xintong had the name 'iPhone' trademarked for its leather goods in 2010 after filing an application in 2007. Apple, on the other hand, had filed for the trademark for electronic goods in 2002, but its application was approved only in 2013.  

Apple started its legal battle against Xintong in 2012 when it made a formal complaint to the Chinese trademark authority. Upon receiving a negative response, Apple went ahead with a lawsuit in a lower Beijing court. The lower Beijing court also ruled against Apple.

Now, the higher court has ruled that Apple is not in a position to prove that it was a well-known brand in China in 2007 when Xintong filed the trademark application. The court upheld the previous ruling of the Chinese trademark authority which held that "the general public will not link the trademark in dispute with Apple to harm its [Apple's] interests." Apple started selling iPhones in China in 2009.

Xintong Tiandi has described the verdict a symbol of "free market." This is the second time that Apple has lost a trademark case in China. In 2012, Apple was ordered to pay $60 million to end a dispute over the iPad name.

Tagschina, apple, Ipad, iPhone, Trademark, Xintong Tiandi