Edible Apple

With the iPhone and iPad now firmly entrenched as mainstream products, Apple’s next big effort to further solidify its already robust iOS ecosystem will likely be the release of an HDTV.

According to the latest rumblings from the rumor mill, which we should point out are extremely speculative at this point, Apple will announce its HDTV this year and may release it in time for the 2012 holiday shopping season.

If this does, in fact, come to fruition, Apple may have to avoid naming it the “iTV” unless it’s willing to pay for it.

iTV Entertainment LLC, a company based out of England, is warning Apple no to use the iTV trademark on any of their future products. The companny announced today that it has already sent a letter to Apple board director Al Gore suggeting that the two companies should sit down and “see if an amicable and fair transaction arrangement” can be hashed out.

MacRumors reports:

“The Apple iTV entertainment center device would cause a great amount of confusion with iTV Entertainment customers”, according to iTV Entertainment LLC Chief Executive, Patrick Hughes. Hughes also said that Apple CEO Tim Cook and general counsel Bruce Sewell have been notified as well as another board member Andrea Jung, that should “the iTV rights issue” not be resolved, then we would have no other choice but to “bring to the International Trade Commission (ITC) [our trademark infringement complaint] that could result in an exclusion order being issued against Apple under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.”

Hughes notes that iTV Entertainment has been using its U.S.-registered trademark since 2001 and that it made sure in August 2010 that Apple was aware of the trademark should it have been interested in launching its revamped Apple TV set-top box as the iTV. Hughes tells MacRumors that Apple did not express any interest in acquiring his iTV Entertainment trademark at that time.

Of all companies, Apple isn’t likely to be strong armed into such a deal, but iTV seems to know what they’re doing. Apple has a history of naming products firsts and dealing with the consequences later, such as Apple’s of the iPhone moniker which was then trademarked to Cisco.

Personally, I don’t think “iTV” has such a nice ring to it but we’ll wait until this product actually exists before casting judgement on its name.