Apple Adds "Retina" to Their Trademark Arsenal

[Phillip Swanson]

Apple can now add “Retina” to their wall of “Words We Can’t Believe We Own.”

The Retina trademark doesn’t cover your actual retina, but does cover the word’s use in computers, computer display screens, and mobile devices. Apple originally filed for the trademark on June 7, 2010, which was the same day the company officially unveiled the iPhone 4 at WWDC. The term Retina Display indicates that the pixel pitch of the screen is such that individual pixels are not discernible at a normal viewing distance. This allows Apple the luxury of labeling different devices with different resolutions as "Retina Display" devices.

Patently Apple noticed the trademark claim as well as a trademark for Apple’s Game Center icon. Game Center is Apple’s stab at a social gaming service on iOS that has since made its way over to OS X as part of the desktop operating system’s last major update.

It’ll be interesting what other marketing buzzwords competitors come up with to describe their displays now that Apple can sue them for using the word Retina.

Source: Patently Apple [via CNET]

[Mateor]

That's just ridiculous.

[WithinTemptationFan]

...you're kidding,right?

[dsg]

they must have somebody working the inside of uspto, to keep getting these TM's

[Mrteacup]

They don't own the words. People can't say they have a retina display etc. just like people can't call their screens amoled without permission

[dsg]

yeah we know

amoled(active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) is an acronym, were retina is an actual word, so should Appl£ really have a monopoly on using it were displays are concerned?

[Mrteacup]

yeah we know

amoled(active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) is an acronym, were retina is an actual word, so should Appl£ really have a monopoly on using it were displays are concerned?

Retina display is not a type of display until it is trademarked. It's not a monopoly and the article is misleading, it doesn't tell the actual form of trademarking. However before apple patented it the word retina technologically speaking meant nothing. With it trademarked it now means a high resolution screen. It's not like apple can sue any time retina, lion, leopard, snow leopard, etc. are used. Just technologically speaking in which it implies the technology apple calls "retina" etc.

[iLoveWindows&iPhone]

yeah we know

amoled(active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) is an acronym, were retina is an actual word, so should Appl£ really have a monopoly on using it were displays are concerned?

Yes....they should. And apparently the FTC agrees! No one was going around saying "look at this awesome display of mine! It's so good that the retinas in my eyeballs can't discern pixels from a certain distance when looking at it!! Apple made "retina display" a household word/term, therefore Apple should have the rights to it....And now they do!

[dsg]

It's not really a trade mark, the Apple logo is a trade mark, the Coka Cola name is a trade mark etc... If there going to use Retina they need to start stamping it on the products

[hapishyguy]

they must have somebody working the inside of uspto, to keep getting these TM's

I have been saying that long long time ago.