Apple's bumpy road to releasing the iPhone in the massive Chinese subscriber market appears to have hit another pothole: Chinese electronics firm Hanwang Technology Co. already owns the trademark "i-phone" for mobile handsets in China, and the similarity of the two brands would make it illegal to sell Apple's smartphone under its now-iconic name, according to Wang Hao, general manager of BSFD, a Beijing-based intellectual property law agency. IDG News Service reports that Apple applied to register the iPhone trademark in China in late 2002, but its application only covered computer hardware and software, not mobile devices--two years later, Hanwang (also known as Hanvon) applied to register the i-phone trademark in the category covering phone equipment, including mobile handsets, and later went on to market a device called i-phone. Wang notes that to sell its iPhone in China, Apple would need to broker an agreement with Hanwang or else apply for the China trademark office to revoke Hanwang's rights to the i-phone brand. A Hanwang spokesperson said the company has not yet been approached by Apple about the issue, nor has it learned of any attempts to revoke its trademark. According to a mid-June research note published by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analyst Cynthia Meng, Apple and operator China Unicom have "most likely reached a deal for an exclusive two-plus year agreement" that will result in the iPhone making its Chinese retail debut sometime in the fourth quarter of 2009. Crediting "industry checks" with the insider information, Meng adds that details on pricing or subsidies remain unknown, but contends that based on conversations with retailers and vendors, the current suggested U.S. retail prices of $99, $199 and $299 are "affordable for majority of high-end subscribers." IDG News Service previously reported a WCDMA-based Apple handset has appeared on the approved product list published on the Chinese State...