Apple purchases Lighting trademark from motorcycle company Harley Davidson

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In September Apple finally released the long awaited Lightning charging port, answering prayers of millions of fans who were expecting a 9 pin port with reversible functioning ends. The dock connector was released last year starting with the innovative iPhone 5 and replaced the old 30 pin connector.

Oddly enough, this week, the EU Patent&Trademark Office published two new trademark applications that revealed the original creator of the “Lightning” trademark as the motorcycle iconic company Harley-Davidson. However the original holding covered a lot more than just lightning. They had motorcycle parts, electrical parts, protective helmets, some sort of computer game programs, eye glasses and eyeglasses frames, all mingled into the trademark.

Even if Apple has succeeded in its first battle to gain property on the holding, the victory is not final. The original “Lightning” trademark will still be under protective custody until 2013, and even as the date expires, Apple has only gained some “partial transfer”, meaning that the company who originally birthed it, Harley-Davidson is still entitled to use it from time to time.

The trademark application has been filled under the 011399821/862. Apple has a history of using product names without actually owning the trademark to that name, so it would be interesting to find out details about how the deal was finalized.

By Radu

Source - Apple Acquired "Lightning" Trademark from Harley-Davidson - Patently Apple