With Apple’s newly-unveiled iPad tablet computer having already run into a trademark-related row with technology company Fujitsu, which claims to be the owner of the iPad moniker, some experts opine that the dispute will give the new Apple device some ‘free publicity.’

According to Fujitsu’s claims about the iPad trademark ownership, the company has said that, way back in 2002, it released its iPAD – a VoIP-capable mobile device that was chiefly designed to help sales associates and store managers in making sales as well as checking inventory data.

Featuring a color display, keypad, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, the Fujitsu iPAD device ran a Windows operating system.

Updating The New York Times about Fujitsu’s iPAD trademark, the company’s public relations director, Masahiro Yamane, said: “Mobile is a keyword for Fujitsu’s iPad, too. With the iPad, workers don’t have to keep running back to a computer. They have everything right at their fingertips.”

As per a report in The Times, Fujitsu had applied for an iPad trademark in 2003; discarded it in 2009; and reapplied for it later in the year.

Fujitsu is not the sole company claiming to be the owner of the iPad brand name. Others companies owning the moniker include European chipmaker STMicroelectronics which has its semiconductor technology trademarked IPAD - Integrated Passive and Active Devices; and security technology company Magtek which has an IPAD handheld POS terminal.