How do Apple and Google secretly register their trademarks?

by opensource.com

The names of new products and services such as 'Nexus 5X' 'Nexus 6P' 'Pixel C' announced at the event held by Google before dawn on September 30 and Apple's 'iPhone 6s' are the moment of the announcement It's hard to get the exact name in advance. The blog 'Alt Legal' reveals a part of how to keep the secret in the danger of various information leaking.

Tongan Shell Game: How Apple and Google File Trademarks --Alt Legal
https://www.altlegal.com/blog/tongan-shell-game-how-apple-and-google-file-trademarks-in-secret/

Trademarks are given priority to those with an earlier filing date, so companies looking to use a particular trademark in their business aim to file as soon as possible. However, since 'what kind of trademark is applied for' is public information, anyone can search for it. In addition, the United States is 'usage principle', and if you use it, the right will be generated in a certain area, but rather you need proof that you are 'using' before registering the trademark. ..

Therefore, in order to prevent the trademark from being used by other companies and to prevent the applicant from finding the application, the company utilized Article 44 (d) of the 'Lanham Act', the federal trademark law enacted in 1946. I am.

Article 44 (d) of the Lanham Act states that if the same trademark is filed abroad before the trademark is filed in the United States, that date will prevail. For example, even if the date of application to the register in the United States is May 2015, if the application was filed in Japan in February 2015, the trademark will be effective in the United States from February 2015. is. However, the overseas application deadline must be within 6 months.

Countries such as Tonga, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are commonly used. These countries don't publish their application information online, so it's not easy to find out what kind of trademark Apple is applying for. Therefore, it is difficult to notice until the application is filed in the United States a few months later.

This technique is used by both Google and Apple, and in particular, Apple has created a paper company for foreign applications to make it less noticeable.

The past cases compiled by Alt Legal look like the following.