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Company Sues Apple Over Use Of iCloud Name

The website of iCloud Communications, which is suing Apple over the use of the name iCloud.
geticloud.com
The website of iCloud Communications, which is suing Apple over the use of the name iCloud.

Apple is being sued for trademark infringement over the name of its new Internet storage service, which it calls iCloud. A company in Dallas says it has been using that name since 2005.

Last week Apple introduced iCloud, a service that will let users store music, photos, calendars, emails and other content online. But says Apple should have asked the Phoenix-based company before using the name.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Arizona, iCloud Communications says the services that Apple is offering are very similar to the services it has been offering. But now that Apple has generated worldwide media coverage, the public is associating the name iCloud with Apple, the complaint says.

In its complaint, iCloud Communications says many of its customers have been confused.

Dallas-based trademark attorney Molly Buck Richard says the smaller company appears to have a good case since it has been operating under that name for six years.

Apple did not return emails or phone calls to discuss the lawsuit.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Laura Sydell fell in love with the intimate storytelling qualities of radio, which combined her passion for theatre and writing with her addiction to news. Over her career she has covered politics, arts, media, religion, and entrepreneurship. Currently Sydell is the Digital Culture Correspondent for NPR's All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and NPR.org.