Apple denied trademark for “multitouch”

Apple’s trademark application for “multitouch” has been turned down at appeal by US authorities.

The decision means other touchscreen device makers may avoid legal battles with the iPhone manufacturer.

Apple has already been in legal disputes over the generic use of the term App Store with Amazon, and was looking to defend the “multitouch” term it claims it used first at the launch of the original iPhone at Macworld in January 2007.

However, in a ruling posted online by MacRumors, the United States Patent and Trademark Office said Apple had failed to provide enough evidence that it had relied on the multitouch term in its packaging and elsewhere.

The ruling also said the term was too descriptive to be attributed only to Apple.

“Given the highly descriptive nature of the designation multitouch, we would need substantially more evidence (especially in the form of direct evidence from customers) than what the applicant has submitted in order to find that the designation has become distinctive of applicant’s services,” the ruling said.

“Simply because the applied-for term has been used in association with a highly successful product does not mean the term has acquired distinctiveness.”