Cisco Sues Apple Over iPhone
“This issue is not about money, and it’s not about the phone itself; it is about Cisco’s obligation to protect its trademark in the face of Apple using it without our permission,” said Jon Noh, Cisco spokesperson, explained to BBC. Cisco Systems is suing Apple for trademark infringement in a US federal court, for using the iPhone name. After 30 months and millions of dollars in top-secret development, Apple has launched a sleek new iPod-cellular phone this week, using the name claimed by Cisco. Cisco is asking the court to forbid Apple from using the name “iPhone,” which Cisco has held a trademark on since 2000 and used to brand a line of its own Internet-enabled phones that began shipping last spring and officially launched three weeks ago.
Apple argues it’s entitled to use the name iPhone because the products are materially different. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris called Cisco’s lawsuit “silly” and said there are already several other companies using the name iPhone for products like Cisco’s that use the increasingly popular Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP.
[Via] MSNBCTags:Apple, Cisco, iPhone, iPod, Lawsuit, Mobile
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