back to article Chinese toothpaste biz wants £50k from Apple over 'Snow Leopard'

Apple may have finally settled its long-running IPAD beef with Proview, but the shiny toy maker is heading for yet another trademark showdown with a Chinese firm, this time over the Snow Leopard name. Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical, apparently a company with fingers in many pies, is claiming to have registered 42 …

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  1. dotdavid
    Trollface

    I think it is shocking that Apple can profit so undeservedly from Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical's innovative works. It is clear to me that continued sales of Apple's Snow Leopard product would completely an irrevocably harm Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical's business. I for one recommend an emergency ban on the imports of all of Apple's infringing products, to stop them from flooding the market with infringing Snow Leopards during this critical juncture in the Snow Leopard market, in order to capture long-term market share, all the while irreparably harming Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical.

    1. Drem
      Go

      Just imports?

      Surely not just a ban on importing them, a ban on exporting them too, so that the rest of the world can also benefit from the of the mighty Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical's innovative works without the interferance from the dastardly capatalists at Apple.

      As a point of interest, do Apple actually (for some highly technical reason) actually export their stuff before importing it into China, or is is sold as locally made goods?

    2. The Baron
      Thumb Up

      I completely agree. All household chemicals currently offered by Apple should be withdrawn from sale immediately! How dare they impinge on the market rightfully dominated by the well-respected Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical company by trading undeservedly on Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical's good name? Typical of Apple to think that they can push a company like Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical around, but the honourable Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical company will not just roll over and acquiesce. No! Mighty Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical will fight this, all the way to the highest international court if necessary, in order to ensure that justice is done, not least for the sake of the customers, employees, and shareholders of the splendid Jiangsu Snow Leopard Household Chemical company.

      1. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
        Joke

        In other news; 2 Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia or Uncia uncia) have retained the legal firm of Vulture, Bluebottle and Tic (Lawyer lawyerus, Lawyer Scumbagius and Lawyer bloodsukerous) and are suing both Apple (fruitus crappyius) and Jiangsu Household Chemical (polluteicus maximus) for identity theft.

  2. Asiren

    Ah, the US exporting "culture" so well...

    Except that, as IP isn't really that protected, instead of patent trolls, China is still on trademark trolling.

    But don't worry! I'm sure they'll catch up soon!

  3. Cannorn
    Thumb Up

    Whats good for the Goose

    Whats good for the Goose is good for the Snowleapard Household Chemical!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder if Apple will complain about the constant litigation without looking up the definition of 'irony' first.

  5. Gerard Krupa

    Plenty of OSX versions to come

    Time to start a company called Ocelot Civet Cougar Liger Tigon Bobcat Lynx Saimese Tabby Persian Birman Computers Ltd.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Plenty of OSX versions to come

      Waiting for Beast Of Bodmin 2.0 myself

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Plenty of OSX versions to come

      Chupacabra perhaps? ;)

      1. dssf

        Re: Plenty of OSX versions to come

        Mangled Chabracupa on a Mangled Pogo Stick Elevated in a Lightning Storm Sprinkled with Strontium...

        Or

        Mangled Chabracupa on a Pangled Stogo Mick Veleated in a Stiightning Lorm Strinkled with Sprontium...

        Won't lanstrate erry leasivy....

  6. Khaptain Silver badge
    Joke

    Wankers Anonymous

    If I open a company called "Wankers Anonymous" would I be entitled to sue at least 50% of the worlds lawyers ? Not for the IP or for copyright reasons just because they are ........

    1. Jess--

      Re: Wankers Anonymous

      I don't think it would work because unfortunately most lawyers are not anonymous

  7. yossarianuk
    Thumb Up

    Karma police are out

    Couldn't have happened to a nicer more troll like company (except MS)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Karma police are out

      Look up the definition of a patent troll. They are companies who make nothing but just buy and sell IP. Apple make plenty of products and are entitled to protect their designs just like any other company.

      1. ArmanX

        Re: Karma police are out

        To be fair, yossarianuk said "troll like," as opposed to "patent troll." Troll by itself is a much larger category, and usually means "unsavory" (in some form or another).

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Karma police are out

        "Apple make plenty of products"?

        Can you list a few? Because I can't think of any that they make.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Karma police are out

          Pretty shells for NetBSD

          Marketing Bullshit

          Advertisements that make my blood boil

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Karma police are out

      If the best that the Karma police can do is to get some no-name Chinese toothpaste makers to try to extract a $80,000 from a worldwide tech juggernaut with $117,000,000,000 in assets, then I think it's time to call in the feds.

  8. TRT Silver badge

    Pfff!

    They'll be chasing the Dragon 32 next...

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I hope this is the start of lots of litigation against Apple, since I'm not sure what apple have invented....

    Nothing the iPad/iPhone does is new, or inovative...

    it is simply an obvious progression from big & chunky to small and mobile....

    I once carried a PDA and a Phone, and linked my PDA to my phone to send emails/browse the web,

    years later I had a PDA Phone, it did all my PDA did, plus it did all my phone did. Apple just follow evolution, and got in first with the right technology, they invented nothing!

    If they just released their tech and played nice, i'd be happy with them, but the litigation to stop competition is rediculous!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Apple just follow evolution, and got in first with the right technology"

      Well, jeez, that's all? I wonder why more people aren't doing it.

  10. Tigra 07
    Thumb Down

    Since when can you OWN the name of an animal?

    I await the man from Del Monte suing Windows for the names of their Windows Phone updates...

    I also eagerly await iOS Owl so we can see Apple sue al the nature reserves with animals of the same name

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Re: Since when can you OWN the name of an animal?

      Crash course in IP law: Google "Likelihood of confusion".

      Hint: It's not what there is in your responses to news articles.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    £50k?

    Pay the man and damn his impudence.

  12. John A Blackley

    This is silly

    but then, as it seems to be a case of 'the biter bit' there's a certain poetic justice about it.

  13. Tom 35

    50k

    They can buy a lot of anti-freeze for that!

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/us/02toothpaste.html

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 50k

      Prefer a Sweet Austrian mysefl ;) No danger now of course!

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_diethylene_glycol_wine_scandal

      Particularly liked the bit about destroying it by using the wine as coolant in a cement plant

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ahha, great.. Now thats the best news i seen in years, thats why i sold ProView monitors.. high fives. Chinese can play this game to.. Who's next? Right, Snow Leopard.. hahah. Just wait till most words are owned.. then what? They own the Gods from Nike to God Eater.. lol.. i suppose some country will only have one option left and the wisdom for the cure to greed is found in the book of revelations. ahha, ah well if i cant amuse myself.. who can i bother with? :P

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "However, Jiangsu CEO Tong Yu told Chinese paper the Modern Express that he believes Apple deliberately chose this path after having an official trademark application for the name in Chinese rejected in 2008."

    Uhh... so his argument is that Apple, being aware of trademark issues, carefully avoided using the mark in order to ensure that they didn't infringe?

    Doesn't sound like a winning argument to me. But then, I'm not filing suit in China...

  16. pear

    *bangs head*

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    World Wildlife Fund sues over Snow Leopard Name (on behalf of actual Snow Leopards)

    Or it would if there were any left that hadn't been made into chinese soap...

  18. Gordon Stewart
    Happy

    Pinyin

    Just for completeness it's xuě​bào in Pinyin (Hanyu Pinyin, that is), and 雪豹 in Simplified Chinese

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