iPhone Handbags? Apple Loses Trademark Battle In China

Apple Inc. AAPL doesn't own the trademark rights to the term "iPhone" in China.

According to the BBC, Apple filed a trademark bid for the term 'iPhone' back in 2002, but it was not approved until 2013. Meanwhile, Xintong Tiandi Technology, a China-based seller of leather products, registered for the "iPhone" trademark in 2007, and has been using the name on its products ever since.

Apple began selling its iPhone product in China in 2009.

Related Link: Apple Investors: Don't Freak Out About A Slowdown In China

The BBC noted that Apple has filed suit against Xintong Tiandi in 2012, but failed to win its case. The company then filed a lawsuit in a lower Beijing court – and lost again.

China's Legal Daily reported of the case in late April, but the story just began circulating across news desks, the BBC further noted.

The court decided that Apple cannot prove it was a well-known brand in China prior to Xintong's filing of its trademark application. As such, the leather goods seller can continue using the name "iPhone" on its products.

Shares of Apple were trading lower by around 0.60 percent ahead of Wednesday's market open after gaining 1.64 percent on Tuesday, which put an end to an eight-day losing streak.