iPhone not a Trademark in Switzerland

That was surprising. According to an article in a newspaper here in Switzerland (available online in German), the iPhone, or its name, can not be registered as a trademark in Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property has ruled, that the word “phone” is used in the English and French languages as a word for “telephone” or “phone calls”. And the Apple typical “i” in front a product is to unclear or not defined. So could the “i” stand for “I” or for “Internet”. This means, that “iPhone” stands either for “my phone”, “I am make phone calls” or for “phone with Internet capabilities”.

Apple argued that other words led by an “i” have been approved for a trademark. The institute acknowledged that some of these names are purely descriptive.
Apple now has the right to fight against this decision at the Federal Court.

Photo (CC) by Jeffery Simpson, via @hediger