Cisco Dials Apple in iPhone Trademark Spat

By NewsFactor Network | February 16, 2007

Cisco is demonstrating that patience is a virtue, offering Apple yet another extension on its deadline to respond to a trademark lawsuit over the iPhone name.

The battle between the two tech titans has been brewing since January. Cisco filed suit against the Mac-maker the day after Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the company’s highly anticipated first attempt at a mobile phone called the iPhone.

Cisco obtained the rights to the name iPhone when it purchased InfoGear in 1996. The networking giant’s suit claims Apple’s use of the iPhone trademark will cause confusion among customers. Apple disagrees.

According to Cisco, Apple asked the networking giant for another extension on the deadline for Apple to respond to its lawsuit, and Cisco has decided to give Apple until February 21.

The iPhone Trademark

This is the second extension Cisco has granted Apple. In late January, after it appeared that both companies had dug their heels in for a long court battle, the companies issued a joint statement indicating they would continue discussions with the “aim of reaching an agreement on trademark rights and interoperability.”

Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been selling VoIP products under the iPhone brand since last year. And the company added new models to the lineup as recently as December.

Apple, for its part, is hoping to reach an agreement that will pave the way for it to capitalize on its well-known “i” brand that includes iMac, iPod, and iTunes.

Cisco Bites Apple

Ilan Barzilay, a lawyer at Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., said multiple extensions on response deadlines do indicate that the companies are attempting to reach an out-of-court settlement. Cisco might have felt that it had an obligation to file the suit, he noted, because trademarks come with a built-in requirement to police the intellectual property.

“Apple probably announced its iPhone a little too early…

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