Apple has recently filed a new trademark in Hong Kong. The trademark slogan from the patent suggests it could be a program similar to the already existing iPhone Upgrade Program of the company.
The trademark application, first spotted by Patently Apple, is filed by representatives of Apple in Hong Kong. However, unlike the article says, Apple has filed it last month(September 4) and not April. Further digging, it is to be filed by a firm named Baker & Mckenzie on behalf of Apple. Also, the trademark has Class 35 and 36 sub-categories. This generally deals with retail sales and franchising, and financial services respectively.
Credits: Patently Apple
That said, going by the name, the patent could be similar to the iPhone Upgrade Program that Apple itself provides for the users. For the unware, iPhone Upgrade Program is Apple’s own trade-in service. If you buy an iPhone from Apple Store, or online through the Apple Store app or website with a 24 months agreement, you have to complete the first 12 months payment. After this, you are eligible to trade-in your existing iPhone canceling the remaining 12 months for the old one. The program will reset for 24-months again for the new iPhone.
Coming back, the new trademark could either be a rebrand of the already existing program or a pre-emptive measure by Apple themselves to protect its Official Apple resellers. Also, this would probably restrict other companies from copying and adopting it. The slogan is reportedly in use for marketing already outside the US. You can look at an example below.
At the moment, Apple has not disclosed any official details about the patent yet. But we can expect more details about the program in the days to come. And who knows, it could also be a bundled program in various markets for the future iPhones.
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