iOS 8’s HealthKit Could Run Into Legal Troubles In Australia

At WWDC 2014, Apple announced HealthKit which was part of iOS 8. It was interesting because according to previous rumors, many had expected Apple to call it HealthBook. That being said, it seems that that Apple could potentially face some legal troubles with the HealthKit moniker because over in Australia, that is the name of an startup company.

According to Alison Hardacre, the co-founder and managing director of HealthKit (via Wired), “It is very flattering that they like our name, but I’m a little let down because how hard would it have been to spend five seconds to put HealthKit.com into their browser and find us?”

“Everybody worries that Google or Apple will come into their space and their business will die, but no one thinks that company will come into that space and use the same name!” It is unclear as to what the Australian startup will do, since a lawsuit with Apple would most likely end up costing quite a lot of money, but at the same time we’re pretty sure they’re not going to let Apple come in and steamroll them, right?

At the same time there has been proof in the past that Apple will do whatever it takes to get what they want. Back in the mid-2000s, Apple managed to wrest away the iPhone and iOS names that had initially been trademarks registered by Cisco, and if Apple can take Cisco on, perhaps a small Australian startup might not prove to be a big challenge, but what do you guys think? How will this end?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple
Tags: healthkit, iOS 8, Legal