Wired: Apple is ordering several online iPod accessory vendors to stop using the word “iPod” in their names or URLs.
“Although on the surface it looks like Apple is being overly heavy-handed with this approach, protection of its brand is important,” Steve Hawkins, managing director of A M Micro, said. “Authorized Apple resellers, for example, have very clear guidelines to follow regarding the use of trademarks. It appears that this has not been the case for the rapidly growing number of web-based accessory e-tailers, particularly the gray market.”
Earlier this year, Apple launched a Made for iPod program, which seeks to reassure consumers they are buying Apple-approved goods.
Products are certified by Apple and labeled with a special “Made for iPod” logo.
The scheme requires that manufacturers pay a percentage of wholesale earnings to Apple, and that they use certain manufacturers for some components.
Speaking to Business Week, Apple’s vice president of worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller, described the program as an attempt to protect consumers from second-rate devices that don’t work properly. IPod cases are not covered by the scheme, but any electrical device that connects to the iPod using the FireWire connection is.
