A recent review by the US Patent and Trademark Office came up with a surprising result: the iPad Mini tablet trademark application was denied. The authority claims that the iPad Mini trademark “merely describes a feature of character of the applicant’s good”.
The USPTO was also bothered by the iPad Mini web page, saying that it fails to include a picture or text description of the product. They refer to the info needed to order the slate, that’s lacking. The authority review compared the submitted product they got with the advertising and the two are not on par.
Of course, since Apple owns the iPad trademark, it would be strange to no issue the iPad Mini trademark as a whole for them. Apple owns a trademark for the iPod nano and other iDevices variations, all of them having characteristics that merely describe the features of the device. Apple is supposed to have responded to this denial with zeal and if you ask me, all of this is pure bureaucracy. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt Apple to be more descriptive with their product, but they shouldn’t be sanctioned for that.
