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Just as Apple wrenched control of the iPhone name from Cisco before the iPhone actually went on sale in 2007, so too has Apple done the same with Fujitsu.
While Apple's deal with Cisco talked vaguely about potential plans to work together, nothing much ever seems to have come out of that deal, so we can only hope that Fujitsu's lawyers were cannier than Apple's in extracting for Fujitsu a pretty penny or some other compensation.
That said, Apple's lawyers are clearly already very clever, so unless Fujitsu, Apple or 'people familiar with the matter' spill the beans on the deal that was done, we'll never truly know.
Those wondering what the patent trademark transfer looks like can take a look at this document over at the US Patent and Trademark Office, with a few tidbits of extra detail over at the Patent Authority website.
Looking over the document, we can see that the deal was done several days ago on March 17, in plenty of time for Apple's iPad to be, well, Apple's.
Continued on page two, please read on'¦
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Fujitsu would presumably have been ready to do some Jujitsu on Apple's legal team and bank account to extract maximum benefit, because why else would Fujitsu give up such a valuable name so easily or freely?
What's clear is that Fujitsu's iPad never took off, and at a cost of US $2000 at the time was far more expensive that Apple's iPad will be when it launches, even if you buy all of the accessories and the most expensive model.
Fujitsu has long been a pioneer in the tablet PC space, and while it has done well in relative terms, the world is looking to Apple to truly usher in the tablet revolution many have been waiting for, including myself.
So'¦ Apple gets its way yet again.
What a non-surprise!
Let's just hope that the iPad is as non-surprisingly amazing when we get it in our hands as we all expect it to be, with Apple continually setting the bar for itself ever higher, even when Apple forces us to understand that without features such as Flash or removable storage and all the rest that isn't there, that'¦ less truly is more.