File photo of IPHONE bags. [Photo: d9soft.com]

Apple has decided to bring its "iPhone" trademark case to the Supreme People's Court, the highest court in China.

In a statement sent to the South China Morning Post, the U.S. tech giant said it "will continue to vigorously protect our trademark rights".

Apple reported Xintong Tiandi Technology Company to the Chinese trademark authority in 2014, claiming the firm was in breach of trademark rules by using the word "iPhone" on bags and other leather products it made.

After the authority ruled against Apple, the company initiated a lawsuit in a lower Beijing court where it also lost.

The firm then appealed to a higher court in Beijing.

The Beijing Municipal High People's Court dismissed Apple's appeal, saying the U.S. firm could not prove the "iPhone" brand was well-known in China in 2007, when Xintong Xiandi filed the trademark application for leather goods. The Chinese company secured the trademark in 2010.

Apple iPhone first went on sale in China in 2009.

Although it applied for the "iPhone" trademark for computer hardware and software in China in 2002, the application was only granted in 2013.

The higher Beijing court said in the latest ruling the Chinese company could continue using the word "iPhone" on its merchandise.