Apple Acquired 'Lightning' Trademark from Harley-Davidson

lightning connectorPatently Apple reports on European trademark registration data showing that Apple has acquired at least partial rights to the "Lightning" name used for its new iOS device dock connector from motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.

The transfer appears to have been required because of Harley-Davidson's ownership of the trademark under Class 28, which includes toys and games.

The explanation for this clash of covered items under Class 028 likely relates to what we pointed out in area # 3 noted above. There it states that there was a "partial transfer." Meaning that Harley-Davidson may have retained the ability to use certain aspects of the trademark relating to the motorcyle parts and so on. The specifics of the partial transfer weren't revealed.

Under Class 28, UPSTO points out that that "This Class includes, in particular: amusement and game apparatus adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor."

It is certainly not unusual for Apple to have to pursue trademark acquisition for its marketing terms, and it frequently seeks to use simple and/or common words that are in many cases already protected by other entities.

One notable recent case involved Apple's efforts to secure the "iPad" trademark in China, an effort that resulted in a $60 million settlement after the trademark's original owner claimed that Apple had originally purchased the mark from the wrong subsidiary. Apple had obtained the U.S. trademark rights for "iPad" from Fujitsu, while the company had previously reached a deal with Cisco for the "iPhone" name.

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Visa and American Express Vying to Win Apple Card Deal in 'Fierce' Fight

Tuesday April 1, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs. Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...

Top Rated Comments

deppisch Avatar
161 months ago
Has Zeus weighed in on this matter yet?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bad03xtreme Avatar
161 months ago
I would think that Ford would own the rights to that name since they had the "Lightning" F150's. :confused:

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bezetos Avatar
161 months ago
What a weird trademark for a motorcycle company to own.

What's weird about it?

Lightning - fast as a lightning - fast motorcycle... Aren't these associations obvious?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigcat318 Avatar
161 months ago
One of those trademarks that probably shouldnt have been allowed to begin with. Owning the rights to the names of natural occurences seems ridiculous.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
161 months ago
The Buell X1 Lightning was in production from 1999-2002. Harley-Davidson was the majority shareholder in Buell from 1998 until H-D shut them down in 2009. It would make sense that H-D would own the trademark for the name. They could market merchandise with the model's name on them as well.

Also, H-D absolutely sells & licenses their logos and trademarks on items such as eyeglasses and video games. To say that these items "would have nothing to do with Harley-Davidson" is inaccurate.

Image (http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2002models/2002-Buell-LightningX1.jpg)
The first sensible post I've read this entire thread.

Understands trademark limitations (a Ford F-150 is not the same class as iPads/motorcycles), understands why Harley owns the Lightning trademark (through Buell) and understands why Harley owns the lightning trademark in the "toys and games" class (merchandising).

Bravo sir. If every poster on this forum were like you, threads wouldn't last passed page 1.

----------

Am I the only one who is sick of trademarks for words other than company names?

I'm not. I wouldn't want the whole shelve of razor blades to say "Mach 3" everywhere and have to hunt down those made by Gilette by inspecting each box individually.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FPCat Avatar
161 months ago
Clearly this means Apple will start making motorcycles in the future. Remember they made a deal with Apple Corps./The Beatles promising they wouldn't start going into music
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)