Fight: UK broadcaster ITV 'furious' at Apple's rumored iTV plans…

Apple’s purported plan to rebrand its Apple TV product as the ‘iTV’ now seems set to see the company sued heavily in the courts, as “furious” executives from major UK television broadcaster, ITV, are meeting with lawyers to plan legal action, according to UK newspaper, The Mirror.

The broadcaster, who owns the trademark to the name ITV in Britain, will also weigh up its options on a global ban.

A channel insider told The Mirror: “You only have to look at recent problems with the iPhone 4 to see not everything Apple produces is gold dust. We all take our ITV brand very seriously and we’ll do everything in our power to protect it.”

The Mirror notes that an Apple spokeswoman “denied the names will be too similar”. Does this mean Apple’s plan for an iTV is true, in that in saying the names won’t be “too similar” the PR is tactily admitting they will be fairly similar?

The irony is that Apple needs support from broadcasters to execute its TV revolutionizing effectively, particularly in order to launch its iTunes video streaming services outside of the US.