Stefan Mileschin

Apple is facing yet another trademark infringement lawsuit, but this time it's not coming from another tech company, but Russian Railways.

The national railway company alleges that a third-party app sold in the App Store is using its logo and it's seeking $65,000 in compensation. The app, dubbed Railways Tariff, lets users track cargo delivery and schedules across Russia.

According to Russia Today, the company is "determined" to protect its intellectual property. However, it is unclear exactly why Russian Railways believes it should be compensated, as the app is actually used to help people who use its services and plenty of similar apps display company logos on a regular basis.

However, let's not forget that Swiss Railways accused Apple of nicking its clock design in iOS 6 last year. The complaint was reportedly settled out of court, with Apple paying the Swiss $21 million for using its Cuckoo clock face.

Apple also settled a lawsuit by a Chinese company last year, and it agreed to pay $60 million for the legal rights to use the iPad trademark in China. This wasn't exactly a dispute as such, or trademark trolling – the Chinese company just got lucky, since it registered the iPad trademark years before Apple came up with its first tablet.

Someone at Russian Railways probably thought they could cash in as well, but given the nature of the complaint and the fact that Apple's legal team is second to none, there's a good chance that particular individual could get a one way ticket to Siberia instead.

http://news.techeye.net/business/app...ssian-railways