Apple Couldn’t Sell Its Headset As “Vision Pro” In China, As Huawei Trademarked It

Apple Couldn’t Sell Its Headset As “Vision Pro” In China, As Huawei Trademarked It

If Apple is having any ideas of selling its latest VR/AR headset, Vision Pro, in China – it’s going to face some serious problems. Turns out, they couldn’t use the name ‘Vision Pro’ in the country, as the name has already been taken by Huawei of all companies, as it was filed 4 years ago.

MyDrivers reports that Huawei filed the Vision Pro name all the way back in 16 May 2019, and has since been approved the ownership starting from November 26, 2021. The trademark is valid for 10 years, meaning that should Apple insists on selling the headset as Vision Pro, there’s still around 8.5 years to go (the trademark is valid until 27 November 2031, just so you know). Alternatively, they can market it under a different name – or just skip China altogether.

In case you missed it, Huawei does use the ‘Vision’ nameplate for Vision Glass eyewear, as well as Vision S TVs among the product that is sold in Malaysia. In any cases, filing the Vision Pro name sounds like a sensible decision on their part, as it is a common tactic to guard any similar or iterative names, just in case. (FYI: Sony already trademarked PS6, PS7 and all the way to PS10 back in 2019).

While the astronomical $3,500 price tag will put Apple’s Vision Pro squarely in the Apple-diehard territory, China is one of Apple’s biggest markets outside of USA with its longtime dominance in the high-end smartphone market. It’s unlikely that Vision Pro is considered as a highly profitable product by any means, but potential trademark disputes like this one may hurt its chances regardless – especially as China has historically been extremely protective of its domestic companies when it comes to trademarks.

Source: PC Gamer

Pokdepinion: Apple probably has to back down from this, given that no amount of money (despite being a $3 trillion company right now) would convince Chinese authorities.