Apple faces trademark fight over the name 'Vision Pro' in China

Apple has long since moved away from prefixing new device names with an "i", but Apple TV was originally announced as iTV. Until, that is, the major British broadcaster ITV objected.

Then the name iPad was first licensed to Fujitsu, and "iOS" was a trademark of Cisco — as was "iPhone."

Now according to Gizmo China, the same thing is happening again with Apple Vision Pro. The publication has found an entry for "Vision Pro" in the China Trademark Network, filed by Huawei on May 16, 2019.

At present, that filing grants the company exclusive rights to the name from November 28, 2021, to November 27, 2031. The approved filing states that the name is to be used on products that include head-mounted virtual reality devices.

Currently, Huawei has product lines including the smart headset Vision Glass, and a series of devices called Huawei Vision Smart Screen. At present, it does not have a Vision Pro product.

In theory, then, Apple could have to change the name of the device for it to go on sale in China. Alternatively, it could simply not sell the device in that region — and Apple has said it will initially only launch the Apple Vision Pro in the US.

What's more likely to happen, though, is that Apple will press on with the name and at some point reach an agreement with Huawei. This is what has happened with all such cases, with the exception of ITV — which really could not lose the name it has been using since 1955.