Apple might have taken control of the 'AirTag' trademark

Rumors of an Apple-branded Tile-like tracking have been circulating for months and just won't go away. Then yesterday references to "AirTags" were found in iOS 13.2. And now a trademark for "AirTag" has been found following some excellent MacRumors sleuthing.

According to their findings a Russian company filed a trademark application for "AirTag" in October 2018. The description filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sounds very similar to what we've been expecting Apple to announce for some time.

Systems of radio frequency identification comprised of RFID tags, RFID tag readers, and downloadable software for operating RFID readers; radio frequency identification (RFID) labels; RFID tags in form of cards, tags or key rings; RFID markers in the form of RFID signal receivers; RFID tag bracelets; RFID tag disks; RFID tag stickers; RFID tag stamps; RFID printed circuits; RFID tag boles; RFID ear tags; RFID tags in plastic or glass flasks; RFID tags in the form of keys; flexible cases especially adapted for RFID tags with a graphic image; RFID readers; blank smart cards with integrated circuit cards; computer software, recorded, for maintaining a record of issuance and control of RFID tags; all of the above designed to allow users to automatically identify them to obtain keyless access control for interlocking doors, access to various services, such as public transportation, banking, social events and various loyalty programs and not designed to work with data loggers.

After some back-and-forth the application was approved in August of 2019. And on August 28th, the links to Apple started to appear.

On August 28, the same day the USPTO officially served notice that the trademark application would be published for opposition on September 17, the attorney on the application was changed to the Moscow office of Baker & McKenzie, a major law firm that Apple has worked with on a number of occasions in several countries.

But that wasn't the patent application's final resting place. Instead, a month later, it moved again. This time to a Delaware company thought to be a dummy outfit for – wait for it – Apple.

A month later, on October 1, ownership of the trademark application was officially transferred to GPS Avion LLC, a company that was only just created in July 2019 and appears to have no public presence. GPS Avion was created in Delaware through the Corporation Trust Company, which is a process Apple has used quite a few times to create shell companies in order to hide its identity when dealing with intellectual property issues.

None of this ultimately confirms that Apple now holds the trademark for "AirTag" but it does show that someone does. And considering Apple's use of "AirTags" in iOS 13.2 it's highly unlikely that company isn't related to Apple in some way.

Given the lack of an October media event, and the fact iOS 13.2 references the new tracking accessory, we expect to see AirTags announced soon.