SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Apple Inc. today successfully blocked Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker, from registering for the 'Mi Pad' trademark in Europe due to its similarity to Apple's 'iPad' trademark.
The EU Court of Appeals General Court today ruled that Millet can not register 'Mi Pad' as a trademark because it is too similar to Apple's 'iPad' trademark to confuse consumers. "Mi Pad Apple's iPad are tablets.
The composite court said in a statement: 'Visually,' Mi Pad 'and' iPad 'are highly similar, except that Mi Pad starts with an' m 'and is not enough to easily distinguish the two. '
In 2014, Xiaomi applied to the EUIPO for the 'Mi Pad' trademark, which was obstructed by Apple and filed a complaint with the European Intellectual Property Office, which received the support of the EU Intellectual Property Office, which said 'Mi Pad' will bring confusion to consumers as a sister product to the iPad.
Subsequently, Xiaomi appealed to the European Court of Comprehensive Justice, which is rejected by the European Court of Justice, and Xiaomi can next appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice.
Today, Xiaomi has become one of Apple's chief rivals, especially in China and India, with the exception of the smartphone market where the two companies compete on the tablet, wearable and even laptop markets.