Apple is facing another trademark infringement lawsuit, this time over its use of the terms ?iBooks? and ?iPicturebooks.?

The lawsuit was filed by several publishing companies that claim to have published thousands of electronic books bearing the ?ibooks? and ?ipicturebooks? trademarks beginning in January 2000. The ?iBooks? trademark is important to Apple as it tries to build a presence in the growing e-reader space.

?The last year has seen an explosion in e-reader competition testing Amazon?s early market leader, the Kindle, so Apple certainly won?t want to lose any ground in its efforts to overcome Amazon with its iBooks app,? said Joseph Bowser, an attorney with Arent Fox LLC, Washington, DC. 

The suit claims that Apple never used the ?iBook? mark as a designation for electronic books until April 2010 when it launched the iPad.

In addition, it claims that Apple never protested the use of the marks ?iBooks? or ?iPicturebooks?  by the suing companies. Apple has long held a trademark on the name ?iBook? for computers.

The suit follows closely on the heels of another trademark infringement suit brought by Phoenix-based voice-over IP provider iCloud Communications against Apple last week over its use of the name ?iCloud.?

The suit claims that because it used the mark iCloud first for cloud computing services that Apple?s proposed use of the same term for related services infringes upon its rights.

The big Apple
In the latest suit, the companies bringing claiming trademark infringement are owned by New York publisher John T. Colby and include J.T. Colby & Company Inc., J. Boylson & Company and ipicturebooks LLC.

The companies continue to publish a wide range of books under these trademarks and claim that its trademarks have been ?overwhelmed? by Apple?s use of the ?iBooks? mark to identify the electronic books available to users of its iPad as well as the application that enables these books to be displayed on the iPad screen.

The delay in the suit being filed could reflect that the parties involved were trying to resolve the situation behind the scenes.

?The iCloud suit was filed soon after Apple announced that service, but this case is interesting in that it was filed over a year after Apple launched its iBooks app,? Mr. Bowser said. ?That could be a sign that extended pre-suit settlement efforts took place but have now reached an impasse, so this suit could drag on for some time if the parties are still far apart in their respective valuations of the mark.

?Given Apple?s tremendous cash reserves, however, the lawsuit isn?t likely to force Apple to do anything it doesn?t want to do,? he said.

The suit is also another example of how companies like Apple are expending significant resources and time initiating and fighting lawsuits as they try to defend their position in the quickly growing mobile space. 

?For Apple, it?s yet another new product that must overcome a copyright infringement claim,? Mr. Bowser said.

?Its devices may be unique, but Apple has spent a lot of time and money litigating trademark cases over its decision to build a brand around a common fruit and a popular vowel,? he said.

?Its Apple, iPhone, iPad, iAds, and, just last week, iCloud marks have all been challenged in court. But each time Apple has emerged with the right to continue using the mark, typically through settlements paid to the original mark holders, so I?d expect this case to follow that pattern.?