Apple faces legal challenge to iPad name

There are at least two handheld devices already called iPad

Apple could face a legal challenge over its new tablet device, after Fujitsu said that it has been selling hardware under the iPad name since 2002 and applied for the trademark in 2003.

"It is our understanding that the name is ours," Masahiro Yamane, director of Fujitsu's public relations division, told The New York Times.

"'Mobile' is a keyword for Fujitsu's iPad too. With the iPad, workers don't have to keep running back to a computer. They have everything right at their fingertips."

Yamane added that the company is consulting lawyers about a legal challenge to Apple's use of the name.

The Fujitsu iPad is a handheld computer with a 3.5in screen running Windows CE with an Intel processor. The device has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a laser scanner and a magnetic card reader.

It has also emerged that the Fujitsu application for the iPad name had already been held up because of an earlier filing by Magtek, an IT security company based in California, for a handheld number-encrypting device.

In addition, Siemens uses the name for engines and motors, and a Canadian lingerie company, Coconut Grove Pads, has the right to market padded bras under the iPad name.

Fujitsu reapplied for the iPad mark in June last year, and Apple is currently opposing its claim.

Apple faced the same problem at the launch of the iPhone, when Cisco laid claim to to the name. Apple settled with Cisco for the rights after paying an unspecified amount.