Apple has added a number of activities related to automotive industry to its corporate description, as discovered by Swiss blog ApfelBlog.ch. The Cupertino company’s law firm Baker & McKenzie has expanded Apple’s corporate description in a set of documents filed recently in Zurich, Switzerland.
Virtually the whole vehicles industry is now included in Apple’s activities, including vehicles, electronic car hardware, anti-theft devices, theft alarms, aftermarket parts and accessories for vehicles.
Specifically, Apple’s filing mentions “apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water; electronic hardware components for motor vehicles, rail cars and locomotives, ships and aircraft; Anti-theft devices; Theft alarms for vehicles; Bicycles; Golf carts; Wheelchairs; Air pumps; Motorcycles; Aftermarket parts (after-market parts) and accessories for the aforesaid goods.”
As tempting as it sounds, the filing shouldn’t be interpreted as a definite sign that Apple is working on an electric car project as has been heavily rumored in the past few weeks.
MacRumors pointed out that similar filings date back to 2003, like a European Union filing from October 2003 which details another vehicle-related corporate trademark and a similar United Kingdom filing from last year.
Aforesaid filings mention things like “rail cars, bicycles, wheelchairs, air pumps and golf carts,” for example. Such generic filings are common practice.
Even though Apple’s filings mention aircraft, ships and locomotives, you’d be hard pressed to claim the company will be venturing into jets anytime soon, for example.
Of course, Apple’s mobile products are supported by the airline industry and have been in the car ever since the iPod music player debuted more than a decade ago.
Apple’s love affair with the automotive industry has been reinforced with the introduction of CarPlay, a feature that infuses in-car entertainment systems with select iOS features like Maps and Siri.
And as Apple CEO Tim Cook said last week, the forthcoming Apple Watch will double as a key fob for existing cars.
The aforementioned expansion of corporate activities simply reflects the scope and reach of the Apple accessories industry, if you ask me.
But if the company were to ship its own car in the not-so-distant future (rumors point to the 2020 timeframe), it would be legally covered to do so, at least in Switzerland.
Pictured above: the 1999 Ford concept car created by Apple designer Marc Newson.
Source: ApfelBlog.ch (Google Translate)