The Apple fans are all abuzz with excitement as Apple is filing for a trademark on the iWatch name. The speculation is that Apple will set the work on fire with their new and revolutionary smart watch. Sadly Apple could be a little late to this particular party and if their recent iPhone rut is any measure it is unlikely that their iWatch will be anything to crow about either. Apple also faces an interesting market where the concept of the smart watch is still being determined. This gives them both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the one hand they can try and develop something new and unique; on the other they are not known for creating “new” ideas. Apple has always been best at taking existing products/ideas and making them better.

The U.S. Patent Office rejected Apple's request for registration of the name iPad mini. The reason is because the name does not describe the product well enough. Apple has already registered the name iPad, and the addition of the suffix "mini" is almost no different from the original name, according to the patent office.

China intends to change some of their legislation to prevent local businesses from maliciously appropriating the commercial names of world famous companies and products. The owners of global brands have the right to prohibit the unauthorized registration/use of their names and logos in China. [It is not just world famous brands though as it is a common practice to try and register almost any name that is not registered globally – Ed]

One of the most controversial games of the year, War Z will apparently be forced to change its name. Specifically, the US Patent and Trademark Office feels that the name of the game is too similar to Paramount's blockbuster movie World War Z with Brad Pitt in the lead role. Using the name War Z is currently suspended and it seems that the problematic game will eventually be forced to change its name. The deadline for filing an appeal is 90 days.

Apple, the big company that likes to brag about their “originality” and accuse everybody else of stealing their ideas, apparently stole something from Switzerland. This is the country famous for inventing clocks and watches, and not just any kind of it, but truly of the highest quality and with beautiful design. Now, the Swiss Federal Railways have accused Apple that of copying their official railway clock.

In a world where corporate interests are slavishly followed to the detriment of society by elected officials one man stands above it all. Lamar Smith is that man, out for justice for the people that pay his campaign bills and he will stop at nothing… Ok so enough of the very cheesy intro here. Out point is that Lamar Smith is back and trying to find a way to implement SOPA any way he can. If you are surprised then you must have been living under a rock for a while.

It looks like Apple and ProView have finally come to an agreement over the rights to the iPad Trademark. As most of you might remember Apple used a shell company to purchase the rights to the iPad trademark, but ran afoul of the fact that the company they thought they were buying everything from did not own all of the rights. It also turns out that the shell company Intellectual Property Application Development Limited (IPAD get it) also claimed they would not make any products that competed with ProView’s own Internet Personal Access Device. Things got very ugly very quickly and the result was a very long court battle with Apple and ProView each claiming they were in the right.

Tim Cook’s recent visit to China has made more than a few headlines especially considering their position they are in right now. Not only do they have the world looking at them over issues at with Foxconn facilities, but they are also in a rather ugly legal battle with ProView over who actually owns the trademark name iPad. On the surface Cook’s visit is to discuss growth and expansion in China (which actually only means more money to Foxconn and the Chinese government). However, Cook is also more than likely there to try and squash the upstart ProView and a level higher than the Chinese court system.

Someone over at Proview in China has been doing some thinking and is now fighting Apple in a very interesting manner. Unless you have been living under a rock you are probably aware that Pro View and Apple are in a trademark battle over the iPad name in China. The back story is a little long, but if you are interested in the whole thing you can read it here, here, and here. For the rest of you it is important to know that Apple used a special group to hide their identity from Proview during the negotiations for the iPad trademark. The company’s name was IP Application Development Limited.

Apple has been playing a dangerous game for some time now. They have been filing ambiguous patents and copyrights in the hopes that they can protect their mobile devices. For the most part this strategy was working just fine for Apple until a few Judges began to notice a pattern of suppression in their efforts. That was a turning point in Apple legal battles against companies like Samsung, HTC and others in the Android family. Now, however, Apple is facing something they never expected; a smaller corporation is fighting for the copyright they already have on the iPad.