January 11th, 2007
Cisco squares off with Apple off over "iPhone" moniker
Cisco has taken Apple, Inc. to court over the use of their "iPhone" trademark:
Cisco today announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Apple, Inc., seeking to prevent Apple from infringing upon and deliberately copying and using Cisco’s registered iPhone trademark.
Our own Larry Dignan thinks that Apple's use of a trademarked word for one of the most important products they've ever launched smacks of arrogance. If you want to read more ZDNet has posted the entire Cisco v Apple Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition Complaint document.
What's not clear is what Apple was thinking using the name "iPhone" when Linksys (a division of Cisco) clearly has a trademark on it. What's known is that Apple has been negotiating with Cisco for use of the term for quite a while but the two haven't been able to come to terms.
Bodog.com is allowing customer to bet on the outcome:
Loading ... Loading ...What do you think? Vote in our polls then click through for the Bodog.com odds…
Bodog.com odds:
1. Will Cisco win their lawsuit against Apple Inc. over the "iPhone" trademark?
Yes is the slight favorite with odds of 14/19 (-135), while No is only slightly behind with at 19/20 (-105).
2. Will Apple Inc. be forced to change the name of the iPhone due to Cisco's trademark?
No is the overwhelming favorite in this case, with odds of 1/9 (-900), while Yes is the highly unlikely underdog at 5/1 (+500).
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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