Apple Faces Trademark Battle to Use 'Vision Pro' Name in China

Apple may be forced to change the name of its new mixed reality headset in China unless it can come to an agreement with Huawei, which already owns the "Vision Pro" trademark in the country.

Apple Vision Pro at Steve Jobs Theater
Originally spotted by MyDrivers, the trademark was originally granted to Huawei on May 16, 2019, and gives the company exclusive rights to its use in China from November 28, 2021 to November 27, 2031.

Huawei actively uses the trademark in China, and offers a number of products under the Vision name, including smart TVs and smart glasses. If Apple intends to sell its headset in China and call it Vision Pro, it may have to enter into negotiations with Huawei to release the trademark for a price.

It would not be the first time Apple has had to pay a Chinese company to use a product name. Apple in 2012 paid Proview Technology $60 million for the rights to the "iPad" trademark in China. The payment followed several court cases in which Apple unsuccessfully argued that it had already acquired the rights for the name as part of a deal with Proview's Taiwanese arm.

vision pro trademark china huawei

Huawei "Vision Pro" trademark documents (Source: MyDrivers)

Apple has said it plans to launch the Vision Pro headset in the United States early next year, with the product set to become available in "more countries" later in 2024.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Tag: China
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...

Top Rated Comments

ColBatGuano Avatar
15 months ago
Perhaps they could market them as the Pision Vro head set in China.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gpat Avatar
15 months ago
It's kinda absurd that Apple didn't check on this beforehand.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zest28 Avatar
15 months ago

Huawei? They are the biggest Apple fans:



Via: https://news.softpedia.com/news/huawei-ceo-says-iphone-12-is-the-best-smartphone-in-the-world-532139.shtml
If you are a fan of someone, will you let him borrow your wife / girlfriend?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
15 months ago

If you are a fan of someone, will you let him borrow your wife / girlfriend?
Yes. Only if they let me watch.


It's kinda absurd that Apple didn't check on this beforehand.
Why? They will negotiate a fair price and if Huawei doesn’t take it then they will simply launch with a different name in China.

From WWDC sessions, it seems like Vision Pro name was kept secret or changed very late. Some engineers who worked on it were mentioning xrOS in videos.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pp_amorim Avatar
15 months ago

Vision is a regular word that can't be trademarked, Apple Vision Pro should not be a problem, but it is China.
We are talking like China respects trademarks.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IsaacM Avatar
15 months ago
The irony. China literally has knockoffs of everything and gets away with it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)