Huawei Trademarked ‘Vision Pro’ Years Back, Putting Apple In Naming Uncertainty

Apple may have bedazzled audiences with its visionary Vision Pro, its first major product in years, but it seems one rival might hold claim to having 20/20 foresight—in the naming department, at least.

The Cupertino tech giant intends to first roll out the “spatial computing” headset in the US in early 2024, and it will probably do so without much hiccups. The same can’t be said for other markets. It turns out Huawei had already applied to trademark the exact ‘Vision Pro’ name four years ago in China.

As evidenced in the database of the Trademark Office of China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the moniker is already taken by the Chinese consumer tech brand, which has previously unleashed products like the Huawei Vision Glass smart eyewear. Although there’s no Huawei Vision Pro gadget yet, it’s possible that the firm is holding on to the name for a future launch.

Huawei first registered the trademark in May 2019, and finally received approval to own it in November 2021. Its ‘Vision Pro’ branding is tied to the international trademark class nine, which covers computer equipment, computer software, and audiovisual products such as virtual-reality headsets and wearable video displays, Gizchina.com reports.

As such, Apple will either have to come up with a different name for its headsets in China, or have a conversation with Huawei about how to overcome this hurdle.

Also, Huawei has dibs on the name for a whole decade, which means ‘Vision Pro’ can only be used by Apple and other enterprises in China after November 27, 2031.

No other brand in the US is vying for the same trademark in the same category, so Vision Pro would be the name to stick in English.

[via Gizchina.com and South China Morning Post, images via various sources]