Apple has won the right to use the name "iPhone" in Brazil, promising to bring an end to a 6-year-old battle over the trademark in South America's largest country. A court ruled that Brazilian consumer electronics firm Gradiente, which began selling an "iphone" last year that runs on Android, must now share the trademark with Apple.

Judge Eduardo de Brito Fernandes called Apple's iPhone "world renowned" and said giving Gradiente exclusive rights to the name would be unfair. "All the (Apple) product's renown and client following have been built on its performance and excellence as a product," the judge ruled, according to AFP.

Gradiente first requested the trademark in 2000 through the INPI, Brazil's intellectual property office. Apple was denied the iPhone trademark in 2007. IGB Electronica, which controls Gradiente, said it would appeal the court's decision.