Apple/Cisco iPhone Trademark Spat Still Unresolved

Category Phone, iPhone, 3GSM | Permalink | 18. February 2007

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Apparently fifteen days was not enough time to eke out a deal on iPhone trademark rights. Late Thursday night, Cisco agreed to give Apple yet another extension to respond to the lawsuit it filed against the Cupertino company on January 10.
ccording to the revised agreement between the two companies, Apple now has until February 21 to either work out a deal with Cisco or challenge the trademark lawsuit in court.

While an Apple representative was not immediately available for comment, Cisco spokesman John Noh said that the negotiations between the two companies are still ongoing and that “Cisco and Apple are still working on an agreement toward trademark usage and interoperability.”

Cisco has claimed it has owned the iPhone trademark since 2000, when it acquired a company called Infogear. Although Cisco has not widely used the iPhone brand, the company began publicly using it about the time that Apple declared its intention to makret a phone under the iPhone name. The two companies began negotiation, which were due to expire on Feb. 15.

The legality of the second delay is still open to question. Presumably, because Cisco has agreed to the deal, Apple is not breaking any district court rules.

By Bryan Gardiner pcmag.com

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