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Apple Vision Pro may face licensing trouble due to 2019 trademark from Chinese tech firm

It turns out the Huawei company filed a trademark for 'Vision Pro' in May 2019, which may cause legal trouble for Apple's upcoming AR/VR headset.

TJ Denzer

June 13, 2023 12:45 PM

Image via Apple

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Last week, Apple finally unveiled its first steps into the AR/VR tech space with the Apple Vision Pro HMD, but it may not keep that name for long. As it turns out, competing Chinese tech firm Huawei had already filed a trademark for the “Vision Pro” name, and while Huawei’s trademark doesn’t seem to be related to augmented or virtual reality tech, it may force Apple to rebrand the product unless the two companies come to an agreement.

Reports of Huawei’s trademark on the Vision Pro name came out of Chinese publication MyDrivers. The Trademark indeed exists on China’s Trademark Office database and has since at least 2019. The trademark is very brief in its description. It doesn’t say anything about virtual reality or augmented reality, but it does speak broadly to use in computing and displays. It’s possible Apple could get away with its bid for the name as a different sector of tech, but it’s also possible Huawei’s legal team could outmaneuver and keep the name by way of its seemingly catch-all-phrased trademark.

It’s an interesting situation to be sure. Usually Apple’s own legal team is right on top of patents and branding for its products. In fact, it’s how we learned about some of the AR/VR tech that is likely being used in the Vision Pro. Patents leaking products aside, Apple only just unveiled the Vision Pro HMD for the first time at the beginning of June during its yearly WWDC 2023 presentation. Apple has a steep $3,499 USD starting price on the headset and it’s expected to launch in early 2024.

That said, if Huawei has its way, Apple may be paying out for the Vision Pro name or going a different route altogether with the HMD’s name. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story for further updates.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.