Brazil has proclaimed that Apple does not have exclusive rights to the "iPhone" trademark within its borders.
The ruling stems from the rather surprising revelation that Brazilian company Gradiente Eletronica registered the trademark itself in 2000, seven years before Apple.
IGB Electronica SA, a restructuring of Gradiente Eletronica SA established a year after the formation of the original, is a consumer electronics manufacturer that craftily decided to establish a line of Android-powered smartphones under the (officially in Brazil) trademarked name of "IPHONE" as of 2012.
A security filing for the first such model, "Neo One," was reported by Reuters with Gradiente's being of the opinion that they "had foreseen the revolution in the convergence of voice and data over the Internet at the time, before Apple Inc's iPhone existed."
Though it has yet to comment, the Institute of Industrial Property - which functions as local examining authority - told the BBC that Apple will most likely be pursuing an appeal in the case.
The INPI added, more significantly, that the ruling only applied to iPhone-branded handsets.
However, being that the region is Latin America's biggest market for the product, this may still remain a big issue for Apple. In addition, Gradiente has the option to sue for exclusivity.
This scenario is further exacerbated for Apple by the fact that, as reported by MacRumors, CEO Tim Cook said over a conference call in 2012 that "Brazil is the next big country" for the company.
In fact, as of Nov. 22, 2012, Apple has begun hiring for new Apple Stores in Brazil, the first country in South America to get the stores.
Cook's assessment that China has been a target for Apple, as well, is of some note, as The Associate Press reported on July 1, 2012 that a similar dispute took place in that country when local company Proview declared it owned the "iPad" trademark previous to Apple's claim.
In that case, Apple ended up paying $60m to Proview in order to reclaim its trademark in China. Perhaps, as it may be hoping, a similar payday is currently in the works for Gradiente.
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