Apple loses "i" Trademark case

CuteSteveJobs writes: Apple has been dealt a severe blow having been told that it no longer has a monopoly on the letter "i" for product naming. IP Australia, the government body that oversees trademark applications, rejected Apples' complaint against a company selling "DOPi" laptop bags. Last year Australian computer company Macpro Computers claimed that after 26 years of flying its own Macpro brand that Apple was "trying to burn us out" with legal fees. This was after Apple released its own Macpro line 3½ years ago. Apple lost that complaint, but is appealing. Last year Apple went after supermarket Woolworths complaining their new logo which featured a "W" fashioned into the shape of an apple. Woolworths sells real apples.

Are Apple's overzealous lawyers risking the company's goodwill by pursing so many frivolous cases? Could there be a backlash that would see Apple still profitable but as unpopular as Microsoft? Should iNTEL be worried?

Wonder if HP would ever get into the fray?

[WhatDoIKnow]

iPAQ: introduced April 2000, before compaq merged with HP. They had desktops using the same name even earlier.
iPOD: Introduced October 2001