US Patent and Trademark Office Rejects Apple's Touch ID Trademark

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Posted July 14, 2014 at 7:38pm by iClarified

Today, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a letter to Apple refusing their trademark application for Touch ID. According to the letter, Kronos Inc currently has rights to the 'Kronos Touch ID' trademark.

USPTO states that "Trademark Act Section 2(d) bars registration of an applied-for mark that so resembles a registered mark that it is likely that a potential consumer would be confused or mistaken or deceived as to the source of the goods and/or services of the applicant and registrant.

In this case, the following factors are the most relevant: similarity of the marks, similarity of the goods and/or services, and similarity of trade channels of the goods and/or services.

The USPTO argued that a simply deletion of a word -- Kronos-- will not be sufficient for Apple to overcome confusion with the Touch ID name. Apple now has six months to either fix their fingerprint trademark on Touch ID (which would likely require renaming the feature) or make Kronos an offer that they can't refuse.

Analysts and Rumors point to Touch ID being a major aspect of its iOS lineup in the future, so it will be interesting to see how Apple moves forward.

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US Patent and Trademark Office Rejects Apple's Touch ID Trademark

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m[o][0]m - July 16, 2014 at 4:55am

It all comes down to money. No matter what you want, if you don't have the money for it don't think about it. Apple will get it eventually.

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joj0 - July 15, 2014 at 8:40am

Steal? Since when is buying and funding considered stealing? They Bought a company that had a working fingerprint scanner and they pumped lots of money in that project so they could take the fingerprint scanner and make it better and more inportant, smaller so it could fit in a phone. You should not bash things if you don't have your facts straight.. it makes you look stupid.

Steal? Since when is buying and funding considered stealing? They Bought a company that had a working fingerprint scanner and they pumped lots of money in that project so they could take the fingerprint scanner and make it better and more important, smaller so it could fit in a phone. You should not bash things if you don't have your facts straight.. it makes you look stupid.

joj0s - July 15, 2014 at 8:40am

joj0 - July 15, 2014 at 8:43am

Excuse the double post, the browser hung for a bit.

gamerscul9870 - July 15, 2014 at 12:50pm

My thoughts exactly! He's always like that being educated his way, it's all samsheep logic! LAWL

Za - July 15, 2014 at 2:25am

Kronos makes time clocks. Instead of punching in, employees scan their finger. Thankfully, the USPTO protected consumers from confusing a phone with a time clock at the automobile assembly plant. Whew! I'm glad that's over with. Now I won't mistakenly be confusing my iPhone and my time clock!

dsa - July 15, 2014 at 12:50am

of course I'll confuse Apple's insanely famous TouchID for half-ass nobody-ever-heard Krono's Touch ID

Ren - July 14, 2014 at 10:09pm

Oh yes apple will buy it out.... if you cant invent any thing.... buy it from other....and call it innovation!!

gamerscul9870 - July 14, 2014 at 7:42pm

In what way is this confusing?