At the BIG Apple event today, the company just named its long rumored payment system and is calling it Apple Pay.
As usual the company does not own the matching .com domain name ApplePay.com.
The domain name ApplePay.com was first registered way back in 2002 and goes to an operating site; and is registered a company known as Apple One Payroll.
“AppleOne Payroll hold the memberships, certifications required to perform as a leading company in the payrolling industry nationwide.
AppleOne Payroll’s commitment to operational excellence includes maintaining continuously-updated, internally-disseminated knowledge of laws, regulations and upcoming technology trends to ensure compliance and provide effective risk reduction for our clients.”
“You have undoubtedly heard of AppleOne Employment Staffing. Did you know that AppleOne also has a Payroll and Tax Filing division?
Since 1996, AppleOne Payroll has been a member of the AppleOne Group, a billion-dollar group of companies established in 1964.
Located in the heart of the business district in Torrance California, we are proud of our impeccable customer service and solution-driven product line.””
The company also owns the domain name AppleOnePayroll.com which is the name of their company which has a separate but identical site that shares a Facebook page.
Of course we would at TheDomains.com love to know whether Apple Computer even attempted to buy the domain name ApplePay.com from the payroll company and if so for how much.
The Payroll Company also owns a trademark on the term Apple Pay which it registered on July 5, 1996 but as you can see below if for payroll processing services not payment processing:
| Word Mark | APPLEPAY |
| Goods and Services | IC 035. US 100 101 102. G & S: payroll processing services. FIRST USE: 19960601. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19960601 |
| Mark Drawing Code | (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM |
| Serial Number | 75131399 |
| Filing Date | July 5, 1996 |
| Current Basis | 1A |
| Original Filing Basis | 1B |
| Published for Opposition | October 28, 1997 |
| Registration Number | 2209461 |
| Registration Date | December 8, 1998 |
| Owner | (REGISTRANT) HOWROYD-WRIGHT EMPLOYMENT AGENCY, INC. CORPORATION CALIFORNIA 327 W. Broadway Glendale CALIFORNIA 91204 |
| Assignment Recorded | ASSIGNMENT RECORDED |
| Attorney of Record | CATHERINE ENDO CHUCK |
| Type of Mark | SERVICE MARK |
| Register | PRINCIPAL |
| Affidavit Text | SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20071229. |
| Renewal | 1ST RENEWAL 20071229 |
| Live/Dead Indicator | LIVE |
As far as Apple Pay product announced by Apple Computer today the company says:
“Apple Pay will work with the three major payment networks: American Express, MasterCard, and Visa.
Apple Pay works with the top bank issuers that handle 83% of the credit card purchase volume”
As we sit today the site Applepay.com has no Alexa rank, Compete.com or Quantcast.com rank.
It will be interesting to see how much traffic this site gets in the next 30 days.
Looks like they are calling their smartwatch “Apple Watch” ……….feel sorry for the guy who registered “iWatch” a long time ago………
Steve Jobs would have went with ipay and iwatch
iWatch is generic as well and can be used for many sites, as for feeling sorry for the domain owner, its the Anything.com guy.
There are a lot of people you can feel sorry for in this world but that guy is not one of them
Correct, you can not trademark generic words such as ” watch” however “watch” would be considered unique if the “i” was added on to it. People should trademark and forget relying on domain names to be protected. I think soon the Government will place domains under the same laws and rules as trademarks. Costs 300 bucks to trademark, but a few dollars for a domain? This is not fair.