In the U.S., the name is protected by a small Californian company OMG Electronics, which on the Kickstarter tried to bring  a project of their smart watch with that name to the market, but after the investment cycle they collected only $1,434 of the required $100,000. It is still not known whether they abandoned the idea, or are they just seeking other sources of financial help. If they gave up, then Apple will probably be able to buy the rights to the name for a relatively small amount of money, but in Europe the situation is slightly different.

In the UK, company Probendi Inc. has protected name iWatch as a "community trademark", which gives them right to it in that area, but it could be applied to all EU countries. Probendi does not use the name iWatch for the smart watch, but as a brand name for applications for smart phones. And since that name is used since 2008, it is highly possible that they could sue Apple if they bring the smart watch with the same name to the market. In any case, Apple could have a problem if they intend to bring iWatch smart watch to the market, although there is a strong possibility that they will easily pay all holders of the rights to the name if they decide to call their device like that.



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