Macworld: Apple expected to keep iPhone name despite Cisco trademark
Despite a trademark conflict with Cisco, Apple is in negotiations to keep the iPhone name for its newly-announcd communications device, according to to a published report.
Speaking to the financial news outlet MarketWatch, the networking giant said on Tuesday that it had conducted "extensive discussions" with Apple to come to a mutual agreement on the use of the iPhone moniker. Progress is reportedly swift and the deal may be completed as of today.
"We expect to receive a signed agreement [Tuesday]," a Cisco representative said.
Terms of the agreement were not revealed in the statement, which confirms Apple's awareness of the now ten year old trademark property in advance of today's Macworld San Francisco keynote by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs.
Differences in the nature of the devices may play a part in the settlement. While Cisco's Linksys-branded iPhone taps into online voice services such as Skype or Yahoo! Messenger for Internet-based calling, the Apple handset is more conventional and provides voice calling only through cellular networks, reserving its EDGE and Wi-Fi connections for visual tasks such as e-mail and web browsing.
Apple had not returned a request for comments on the negotiations as of Tuesday afternoon, MarketWatch said.
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And there lies the (Apple) iPhone's similarity with the cruddy smartphones already on the market: you don't have as much control as with a conventional computer?
Yes, I'm one of the tablet folk who'd prefer to buy one of these and use it for wifi Safari and Mail instead of making calls. And that I'll be able to do of course, only with Cingular getting their cut too (or whoever it turns out to be compatible with over here, Vodafone?).
Dang it, this thing is so sweet but I'm all confused. I want a Tablet Mac MacBook Nano etc. etc. but this thing's so damn cool!
Despite a trademark conflict with Cisco, Apple is in negotiations to keep the iPhone name for its newly-announcd communications device, according to to a published report.
Following the introduction of the Apple iPhone on Tuesday, Cisco today was quick to dispel worries that its recently launched VoIP phone of the same name would trigger a prolonged trademark dispute.
Speaking to the financial news outlet MarketWatch, the networking giant said on Tuesday that it had conducted "extensive discussions" with Apple to come to a mutual agreement on the use of the iPhone moniker. Progress is reportedly swift and the deal may be completed as of today.
"We expect to receive a signed agreement [Tuesday]," a Cisco representative said.
Terms of the agreement were not revealed in the statement, which confirms Apple's awareness of the now ten year old trademark property in advance of today's Macworld San Francisco keynote by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs.
Differences in the nature of the devices may play a part in the settlement. While Cisco's Linksys-branded iPhone taps into online voice services such as Skype or Yahoo! Messenger for Internet-based calling, the Apple handset is more conventional and provides voice calling only through cellular networks, reserving its EDGE and Wi-Fi connections for visual tasks such as e-mail and web browsing.
Apple had not returned a request for comments on the negotiations as of Tuesday afternoon, MarketWatch said.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
What sucks is Cisco probably only trademarked it once they saw the original imac and thought it sounded cool.
Oh well if falls through it can just be called "Apple phone."
This might even get cisco some accidental sales of somepeople who may think it's an apple product.
"Oh wow apple made a cell phone and a skype phone!"
What sucks is Cisco probably only trademarked it once they saw the original imac and thought it sounded cool.
Oh well if falls through it can just be called "Apple phone."
This might even get cisco some accidental sales of somepeople who may think it's an apple product.
"Oh wow apple made a cell phone and a skype phone!"
Oh.... I think it was a smart decision on Cisco's part: I am sure they made a few bucks in this transfer of naming rights! (The so-called "iPhone" that they introduced a few weeks ago looked REALLY lame, and not much of a cash flow generator, anyway -- they'll probably make more $$ selling hardware that supports Apple's new breakthroughs).
Well if the Apple Computer Inc dispute with Apple Core is anything to go by this probably means they made an agreement never to step into the IM side of things