Xiaomi stripped of Mi Pad trademark rights due to Apple complaint

Chamber for Patent Disputes satisfied Apple’s complaint about the Mi Pad trademark owned by Xiaomi. According to Apple, the “Mi Pad” mark is similar to the company’s existing trademarks and is misleading to users.

In a statement, Apple indicated that the registered trademark “Mi Pad” is similar to similar products and services under the trademarks “iPad”, “iPad Smart Case”, “iPad”. IPad Pro, iPad Mini and iPad Air.

Such similarities can be misleading for buyers and users of Apple devices. Apple representatives in a statement noted that the registered Xiaomi trademark violates the principles of fair competition.

The Federal Intellectual Property Office agreed with Apple’s objections and canceled the registration of the Mi Pad trademark from Xiaomi.

Based on the results of the analysis, the specialists of the Chamber for Patent Disputes confirmed the possible occurrence of misconceptions due to phonetic similarities between the new trademark and the Apple product line.

Employees of Rospatent also noted an increase in similarity due to the use of the Latin alphabet in trademarks and “the presence of the corresponding phrases and words of similar compositions of the corresponding certain letters of the Latin alphabet (” Mi Pad “-” iPad “)”.

Differences in the names of trademarks were recognized as secondary in the perception of them by buyers.

Legal protection of the Mi Pad trademark is not provided in Russia. Xiaomi tablets are still on sale in the Svyaznoy chain of stores.

The European Patent Office granted Apple’s similar trademark complaint against Xiaomi in 2017. Then the European court ruled that Xiaomi could not register the Mi Pad trademark in Europe.