Software company Wapple has won a trademark dispute against Apple after the manufacturer challenged its trademark application and claimed the company was trading off its brand and name.

Recently, the UK Intellectual Property Office ruled in favor of Wapple keeping its trademark. Apple has challenged the Wapple?s trademark since 2007 and the opposition has continued for more than four years.

?This is great news for Wapple as this has been a very lengthy case over these last 4 years with Apple presenting a significant documentation and surveys,? said Anne Thomas, chief operating officer of Wapple, Bromsgrove, Britain.

?It has taken significant energy to fight our corner but we were not going to simply move out of the way,? she said. ?We have protected our brand. 

?We absolutely recognize that some do try and trade off very well established brands such as Apple but it simply was not the case here.?

Wapple have been in the mobile space using its company name since 2003.

Since its launch, the company has rolled out a mobile Web site build and publishing platform.

Wapple also uses the technology to provide services to companies and brands such as Microsoft and Google.

?This [dispute] means we will continue to push forward in this space,? Ms. Thomas said. ?We can continue to strengthen our brand and use our trademarks.

Over the past years, Wapple has been ramping up its mobile strategy.

Software company Wapple was named 'Most Innovative Enterprise Application' at the Mobile Internet Innovation Awards 2007 that took place Nov. 14 at the Mobile Internet World trade show in Boston.

In 2007, Wapple was named 'Most Innovative Enterprise Application' at the Mobile Internet Innovation Awards 2007 (see story).

In 2009, Travel Buddy, a travel service provider, launched its first mobile Internet service for jetsetters and business travelers via Wapple's Wapple Architect.

Wapple, which optimizes location based mobile services on any type of mobile device, is supporting Travel Buddy's new Mobile Destination Guides that are intended to provide customized location based services for world travelers (see story).

?Mobile Web will impact SME's marketing strategies ? we will soon be launching new products to support these companies,? Ms. Thomas said. ?We will also grow and support our developer network to accommodate the demand.?

Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York