RIO DE JANEIRO, Tue Feb 5, 2013 - Brazil's copyright regulator will strip Apple Inc of the right to use its iPhone trademark in Latin America's biggest market and granted the trademark to a local company that registered it first, a source familiar with the decision said on Tuesday.

The Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property will officially announce its decision on Feb 13, the source said.

Apple could then challenge the ruling in the Brazilian courts.

A spokesperson with Apple in Brazil declined to comment.

With a swelling middle class anxious to go online, Brazil is one of the fastest-growing markets for smartphones in the world.

IGB Eletronica SA, a company formed after the restructuring of Gradiente, launched its "iphone" line of smartphones last December.

The Android cellphone is marketed for 599 reais ($302) and comes both in black and white, as does Apple's.