Apple's 'iWatch' Trademarking Spree Also Includes Taiwan and Mexico [Updated]

In addition to filing for a trademark on the term "iWatch" in Russia and Japan on June 3, we have discovered that Apple filed for a trademark in Taiwan, which follows a report from 9to5Mac that Apple filed in Mexico as well, bringing the total number of trademark filings to four.

iwatchtaiwan

Apple's Taiwan Filing

In both iWatch trademark filings discovered today, Apple Inc. is listed as the company behind the requests and the company’s Infinite Loop address in Cupertino, California is included on the applications. The filing in Mexico was submitted via Mexico-based law firm Arochi, Marroquín, & Linder, S.C, which has worked with Apple on other product trademarks.

News of the iWatch, which is one possible name for Apple's rumored smart watch, first surfaced in late 2012 and was followed by a patent application for a wraparound-style “wearable video device” in February.

According to reports, Apple has a team of 100 product designers working on the watch, which may include a 1.5–2.0 inch OLED display along with biometrics, iPod nano touch technology, and the ability to interact with existing iOS devices.

While it has been suggested that Apple's smart watch could launch later this year, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has instead targeted a late 2014 release date for the iWatch, suggesting that Apple is not quite ready to ramp up production for a 2013 debut.

Update: Apple also appears to have filed for an iWatch trademark in Turkey through Pinar Arikan, an attorney who has worked with the company in the past. While the filing does not list Apple as the applicant, it was filed on the same June 3 date as the other applications.

iwatchturkey
Update 2: Apple has also filed for the mark in Colombia and Chile.

Update 3: A tipster has also pointed us to a filing in India, bringing the total number of international filings discovered so far to nine, including the original December 2012 application in Jamaica that Apple is using to establish priority.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Rog210 Avatar
150 months ago
They couldn't register it in the US, the NSA got there first.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pgiguere1 Avatar
150 months ago
I think these tech companies are going to get a huge shock when they enter the wearable accessories market ... I kind of wish Apple wouldn't be the first in on this one, let the competition make the mistakes and bring out a brilliant product further down the track.






There has been a variety of unsuccessful smartwatches in the past. Nothing major but the situation is similar to the iPad and the pre-iPad "tablet PCs".

If the past repeats itself again, competitors following Apple in the smartwatch trend should still make mistakes in their first iterations and take like 2-3 years to catch up. That's enough for Apple to make some $ and secure itself the advantages associated with a good marketshare for the future (large app selection, third party accessories, content deals)...
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cuda12 Avatar
150 months ago
Currently, Apple largely targets these people who buy/wear $2,000 status symbols (and more realistically try $200,000+ status symbols). The iPhone is the absolute top of the range smartphone you can buy that has brilliant design and build quality. The iPhone is something celebrities and millionaires alike love to flaunt, because it's a stunning looking product. Same goes for all of Apple's current products.

These people love using iPods, iPads, iPhones, iMacs etc because they're the best things they can buy and they come with a sense of prestige. It's also why we all want the devices.

But I don't see Roger Federer walking around using his iPhone sporting the iWatch ... I think the iWatch is going to be targeting a very, very different audience than Apple's current target market and I don't think it's going to be anywhere near as successful because of this.
At least in the U.S., iPhones are not status symbols. Most middle-class people can afford them; they're nothing like high-end Rolexes.

And Apple targets average consumers, not millionaires and celebrities. They market themselves as the premium brand but not a luxury brand.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
komodrone Avatar
150 months ago
Well...looks like...(puts on sunglasses)...we'll have to watch what happens.
YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Clubber Avatar
150 months ago
I wonder if the iWatch (watch as a verb) is the TV and the whole wrist thing (watch as a noun) was a massive curve ball thrown at the speculators. That'd be an awesome move. Not sure about an actual watch (as a noun) though, but I'll have to wait and see.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghsDUDE Avatar
150 months ago
If Apple does a good job at releasing this they'll be fine!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)