Apple applies for iWatch trademark

Apple has filed for ownership of the "iWatch" trademark in Japan, suggesting that the company could be preparing either to introduce a wearable technology or a product relating to the TV business.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the application was made there on 3 June, and made public on 27 June.

Izvestia reported that it applied for the same trademark in Russia in June. However, it does not appear to have registered the name in Europe, where an Italian company owns the trademark.

Registering a trademark is usually an essential step made ahead of the launch of a product in order to prevent rivals from registering the same name and creating an embarrassing and costly legal clash. The name of Apple's iPod was first discovered from trademark filings ahead of its launch in October 2001 – though it trampled over Cisco's "iPhone" trademark in 2007 when it launched its phone that January. The two companies later came to an agreement.

There have been rising expectations – after a growing hiatus since October, during which it has not released any new devices – that Apple will introduce either a watch-style device or some form of TV-compatible device.

The idea of an iWatch that would offer a wearable system able to connect to a smartphone has raised interest, with a number of media outlets saying the company has a huge team of engineers working on such a product.

Wearable technology such as Google Glass, now in beta testing with thousands of "explorers" in the US, and Pebble's Bluetooth-connected watch, has become a hot new item. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, didn't rule out the idea of such a product when he appeared at the AllThingsD conference earlier this year.

Alternatively, the "watch" element of the name could relate to a TV-related product. Analysts have expected Apple to make a move in the television space, but with margins on sets very thin and replacement cycles low – at about 10% per year – have been unable to think of what it might do. Benedict Evans of Enders Analysis has suggested that Apple could introduce an HDMI-powered dongle with the ability to use TV signals. But the company has given no indication of its intentions, and there has been no industry chatter from TV content providers that would indicate a product was on the way.

So far there is no record of a similar iWatch trademark filing from Apple in Europe. An EC trademark database search on iWatch turns up three results, with the ownership being held by Probendi of Italy and filed in 2008. The other two applications were made after Probendi's, and were either opposed or withdrawn.

Probendi's iWatch application is a mobile-phone application which sends real-time information to an emergency support system.