iBeacon is some interaction standards atop BLE, and early on everyone assuaged themselves that it was safe and open -- because it's just some BLE interactions -- but Apple has it covered by trademarks, patents (similar to Microsoft's ActiveSync patents, as an aside. It's just a web service, but use it in certain ways and you're at risk of a patent suit) and marketing.
iBeacon is some interaction standards atop BLE, and early on everyone assuaged themselves that it was safe and open -- because it's just some BLE interactions -- but Apple has it covered by trademarks, patents (similar to Microsoft's ActiveSync patents, as an aside. It's just a web service, but use it in certain ways and you're at risk of a patent suit) and marketing.