The Beijing Municipal High People’s Court threw out Apple’s appeal in a trademark dispute that’s been knocking around Chinese courts for the last four years.

Xintong Tiandi Technology  applied for the trademark in the category of leather goods in 2007, securing it in 2010. Jobs’ Mob insisted that Steve Jobs invented the name and the trademark can only be applied to what he said it was.

The Beijing Municipal High People’s Court said that the trademark was in two different categories and there was no chance of any confusion. After all the iPhone was clearly not made of leather and it bent a lot more.

Apple pplied for the “iPhone” trademark for tech goods in 2002, though it wasn’t until 2013 that it was granted. Apple thought that once it had the trademark for electrical goods it had a trademark for the lot. But not only had Xintong Tiandi had the trademark before Apple, it was in a different category. Logici would say Xintong Tiandi could not sue Apple and Jobs’ Mob could not sue Xintong Tiandi.

Yet that did not stop Apple. in 2013, it took Xintong Tiandi to court in a bid to gain exclusive rights. The court said no, many times,

The court said it ruled in favour of the Chinese company as Apple had failed to demonstrate that the iPhone trademark was already well known in the country in 2007, when Xintong Xiandi submitted its application. The iPhone launched in China in 2009.

Xintong Tiandi said the court’s ruling reflects the “free market” system, adding that it intends to “make full achievement of the ‘iphone’ trademark, and work together with Apple to benefit more iphone consumers.”

Apple might consider once again making an out-of-court offer in an effort to grab the rights, or it might choose to live with it.  In this case it is not really a bit deal.