Cisco-Apple iPhone Pact Remains Murky on Details

By NewsFactor Network | February 23, 2007

The short-lived legal battle between Cisco Systems Inc. and Apple Inc. over the “iPhone” name was only on the surface a trademark-infringement dispute involving identically named multimedia telephones.

Cisco has maintained since the start of the squabble six weeks ago that the dispute was not about money, even though it stood to profit handsomely from any settlement.

Instead, the networking gear maker said it was trying to pressure Apple to break its attachment to closed, proprietary systems and begin collaborating with Cisco on imaginative future products that can communicate with each other.

But industry analysts said Thursday the settlement between the Silicon Valley tech giants does not mean that Apple will suddenly open up its most lucrative technologies, particularly the iTunes library that has helped catapult Apple into the top ranks of music retailers worldwide.

The more likely scenario, they said, is that Cisco and Apple could partner in the near-term on lower-profile projects that leverage the respective strengths of the world’s largest networking equipment company and the new darling of digital entertainment.

Some of those efforts, they said, could include integrating Cisco’s Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, technology into Apple’s iPhones, which are currently designed to operate only over the cellular network; improving the ability of Apple computers to work securely with wireless home routers from Cisco’s Linksys division; or generally developing ways for both companies’ products to work seamlessly with each other.

Analysts cautioned against expecting any type of major concessions from Apple concerning its proprietary technology, citing the vague joint settlement statement from the companies that raised more questions than it answered.

“As far as concessions go, from Apple’s point of view, is there a downside to making their products work better with Cisco’s networking gear? I don’t see a downside for them,” said Charles Golvin, principal analyst with Forrester Research Inc. “If…

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