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Indian court orders Apple to cease using ‘Split View’ name as Microsoft vendor claims the trademark

The Delhi High Court has ordered Apple to cease all use of the term ‘Split View‘ within India as a local software company claims to own the trademark for the name ‘SplitView’ (without a space). ET Tech reports that Apple has appealed the ruling, and a final decision is expected in May.

Vyooh, a vendor for Microsoft, has claimed that it developed a similar software a decade ago in 2006 […] Vyooh LLP and its promoter Rohit Singh had approached the court, alleging that they have developed the software programme which sold under the trademark ‘SplitView’.

Apple introduced Split View in iOS 9, to provide iPad owners with the ability to multitask with two side-by-side apps – a plan we exclusively revealed in May of last year.

Apple is regularly hit with lawsuits over both trademark and patent claims.

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Comments

  1. alanaudio - 9 years ago

    Presumably this company will also be going after Mercedes, who have been incorporating a feature that they call Split View for the last few years. It allows one video screen to apparently show one image to the driver ( typically a navigation screen ), while simultaneously displaying a quite different image for the passenger ( maybe video entertainment ).

    • chrisl84 - 9 years ago

      In India?

      • Doug (@wingdo) - 9 years ago

        Yes, MB does sell cars in India.

      • chrisl84 - 9 years ago

        Selling cars in India does not = marketing with the Split View name

      • el3v3nty - 9 years ago

        yup… in india. They sell more s500’s and other similarly specced cars in india than all of America’s combined. not even kidding. Time for some economics lesson for you maybe?

      • el3v3nty - 9 years ago

        When i say America’s, i mean NA and SA (North America – Canada, US and all of South America).

      • Jorge (@myowntester) - 9 years ago

        @el3v3nty time for some geography lessons? Mexico IS part of North America.

  2. I guess trademark law in India is pretty lax, because in the US, “Split View” is precisely descriptive and invalid as a trademark – or supposed to be according to the letter of the laws surrounding word marks.

  3. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 9 years ago

    Um. There is a space as Vyooh’s trademark is ONE WORD. SPLITVIEW, and Apple’s feature is Split View. doesn’t that space mean anything? One word versus two words? Kind of a stupid lawsuit.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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