According to the guys over at Fusible this weekend, Apple is thought to have recently filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property Organization to gain complete control of iPhone5.com. The case (D2012-0951) is said to be in “active” status with WIPO’s decision on whether to let Apple gain control of the domain expected in the coming weeks.
As it stands, iPhone5.com shows what appears to be a third-party discussion forum – (set-up shortly after the public introduction of iPhone 4 back in 2010) – regarding the rumored device.
It is so far unclear what Apple’s intentions will be if (or when) it does gain control of the domain, however, more than likely the company is looking to gain control of iPhone5.com to use it as a redirect to a future product page on Apple.com.
The filing is particularly interesting given Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, and the fact that some out there still argue that Apple will next introduce the “iPhone 6.” People who believe Apple will skip the “iPhone 5″ moniker say that the iPhone 4S was technically considered the fifth iteration of the iPhone.
For reference:
- iPhone 2G (1)
- iPhone 3G (2)
- iPhone 3GS (3)
- iPhone 4 (4)
- iPhone 4S (5)
Others, though, believe that Apple will drop this numbering strategy entirely, as it has already done with the iPad — instead referring to the next-generation iPhone as a simply, ‘The New iPhone’.
If you think about it, this approach makes complete sense, given that, ‘The New iPhone’ – (just as with ‘The New iPad’) – will be considered ‘new’, until such time as Apple updates that particular model.
Essentially, Apple could then release ‘The New iPhone’ every 12-months.
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