iPad iPad iPad iPadâ„¢

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | January 28, 2010

Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2010

Love it!  Can’t wait to try it.

A few minutes after watching Steve Jobs demo Apple’s new tablet computer, I checked Google and found that it was packed with iPad postings with new ones streaming in.  The news hadn’t even been posted on the Apple start page yet.

However, further down the Google listings, it appears that the name has been in use for over a decade. Fujitsu had US trademark rights on the name for quite a while and may still, perhaps. In 2001, Fujitsu iPads, which had been anemic grocery store point-of-sale computers, were used as a database by volunteers at the Vietnam Memorial. Fujitsu was declared to have abandoned the mark in April 2009, but apparently made a subsequent effort to reclaim it.  Meanwhile a company that was apparently fronting for Apple has been registering the Mark around the world — in Europe, Canada and Hong Kong. This activity lead to rumors that the new tablet would be call iPad.

The flood of iPad commentary was not restricted to the media that follows technology. The Motley Fool investor news, for example,  had posted its analysis before the afternoon was over. Legal publications got into the act, too. The LTN Law Technology News, not to miss a breaking news story, reprinted two hastily-written stories from other on-line legal publications.

But not everybody was that quick.  There was no story posted this afternoon in the Tablet Lawyer blog.  But then, why would Tablet Lawyer care?  Its a PC.

CLT

Welcome

CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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