iPad: 2nd Day Problems

You've read about some of the tech complaints -- and the jokes about all of the feminine hygiene connections -- but there are some serious legal issues arising around the new Apple device. The NYT's Brad Stone has a big piece just up and here's just snatch:

The problem may be worse outside the United States; Japanese does not even have a sound for the “a” in iPad. Then there are more serious conflicts. Two other high-tech companies already market products called iPad and are laying claim to the trademark....

But the folks at Fujitsu, the Japanese technology firm, may not be quite so eager to forgive and forget. The company has applied for the iPad trademark in the United States and already sells an iPad — a $2,000 hand-held device that shop clerks use to check inventory.

STMicroelectronics, the Swiss semiconductor company, owns the iPad trademark in Europe and uses it as an acronym for integrated passive and active devices — which sounds less fun than playing games on a tablet. (A third company, MagTek of Seal Beach, Calif., makes a portable magnetic card reader of the same name.)

These kinds of naming conflicts have not stopped Apple before.