iPhone Battle: Apple, Cisco Extend Talks on "iPhone" Deal

[Kiran.dks]

Apple, Cisco Extend Talks on iPhone Deal
Companies push back a deadline in the their trademark fight in hopes of achieving a settlement.

In order to keep working toward a settlement over the iPhone name, Apple and Cisco Systems have pushed back a deadline in their legal battle.

Cisco sued Apple last month in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California over its use of the iPhone name, which Cisco uses for some of its own products.

The companies have now agreed to give Apple more time to respond to Cisco's suit so the two parties can keep talking in hopes of reaching an agreement on trademark use and interoperability, they said in a brief joint statement today.

Cisco's Position
Cisco's Linksys consumer products division sells VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) phones under the iPhone name, which the company said it acquired in its purchase of Infogear in 2000. Apple introduced its iPhone to great fanfare at the Macworld conference last month, and Cisco later said the companies had been negotiating use of the name before the show but never reached a deal.

According to published reports, Cisco would have been willing to license the iPhone name in exchange for Apple making the handset interoperate smoothly with Cisco's products. Linksys is the biggest seller of consumer Wi-Fi access points and is expanding its home product line into the voice and entertainment realms. Apple's iPhone is equipped with Wi-Fi and includes audio, photo and video player software.

News Courtesy: PCWORLD

 

[Pathik]

I hope apple gets the name..

 

[kumarmohit]

I hope the iphone comes@ affordable price in India.

 

[aryayush]

I pity Cisco! They are pretty much ready to agree on any terms to secure interoperability between the two products. I hope Apple doesn't agree - but still gets the name somehow. Actually, I'm sure they will.

 

[gadha]

i hope apple get the name. see, ipod and iphone sound almost the same.

 

[aryayush]

They could easily have called it the iFone though. What is the problem with that name?

 

[Kiran.dks]

Why did Apple take such a horrible decision of using "iPhone" tag, especially when Cisco already gave a warning to them before fanfare at the Macworld conference?
I can guess it. Apple wants publicity for its latest and expensive product. And that's the best alternative to gain more publicity by provoking giant Cisco to start trademark war with Apple!
This lawsuit brought by Cisco against Apple will do exactly the same what Apple wants. This news will remain on the front pages of all technology news section like this one.
Pity on Apple's strategy.

 

[iMav]

hey kiran ... y are u starting it again ?

dont u know tht on thinkdigit any decision by apple is correct and cant be wrong ....

 

[Kiran.dks]

hey kiran ... y are u starting it again ?
dont u know tht on thinkdigit any decision by apple is correct and cant be wrong ....

Let me be clear dude. I am not raising any issue here, neither have made any lame statement. I can't keep quiet in a forum. What's wrong if my statement is not deceptive? Everyone has rights here. I am not goin to kill my thoughts against anybody ought here.

 

[iMav]

kiran well in tht case this thread will also meet the same fate .... iv also been here for some time and thought the same way u do but eventually realised tht there's no point ... the rest is ur wish

 

[Kiran.dks]

kiran well in tht case this thread will also meet the same fate .... iv also been here for some time and thought the same way u do but eventually realised tht there's no point ... the rest is ur wish

Okay dude!

 

[aryayush]

It is a smart business move, whether you like it or not. And anyway, Cisco have been sitting on that name and never used it with any of their products. Only recently, in December 2006, did they release products that carried the iPhone moniker. It is US trademark law that if you do not use a trademark, you lose the right to own it. To circumvent that law, they Photoshoped the name 'iPhone' onto some of their much older products to provide as evidence that they've actively defended theit trademark in the past too.
BTW, there have been many similar products from various companies in the past that carried the 'iPhone' moniker and Cisco never attempted to put a stop to it. Now that they realised that Apple is interested in the name, they saw it as a good business opportunity and jumped onto the bandwagon.
Apple is surely going to win this deal. And stop being so dramatic about all things Apple already. If you guys are so apprehensive of my pro-Apple posts, don't bother posting a reply to them. However, if you look at it objectively, we can have friendly discussions.

 

[krazyfrog]

Why does Apple want that 'i' in the name? The name iPod sounds nice, but iPhone sounds wierd. Why couldn't they think of a better name? Also now, will they put 'i' before every name, just because iPod was a roaring success?

 

[iMav]

if ekta kapoor can have k ... if rakesh roshan can have k then y not steve jobs have i .....

 

[aryayush]

The first product from the Apple camp to use the 'i' prefix was the iMac. The 'i' in it basically meant 'Internet', but it also meant Individual, Instruct, Inform and Inspire.
Since then, there have been many hardware and software products from Apple that have used the 'i' prefix. There has been iSight, iPod, iPod Hi-Fi, iChat AV, iCal, iLife (iPhoto, iWeb, iMovie HD, iDVD), iTunes, iWork, iDisk and now the iPhone. As you can see, most of the five words apply to most of these products, but some of the names have been downright ludicrous.
But I think all the five words are as right for the iPhone as they were for the iMac. Plus, I don't know whether you know about this or not, but there has been tremendous speculation over the past few years about a phone from Apple and most, if not all, people had christened it the 'iPhone'. Therefore, using the name gives a physical entity to an already famous and highly public name. It can only be a positive thing.
And now, because Cisco own the name and have sued Apple, there is already a lot of free publicity going on for the iPhone. And if Apple win the case, who gets the benefit of all this hype? No prizes for guessing, Apple.
I think it was pure genius to use this name.

 

[krazyfrog]

Well marketing strategies aside, i think the name iPhone sounds too clumsy and unimaginative for such a smart and stylish product. The name iPod was good. Good enough to suit atleast ten generations of the product. But the name iPhone doesn't do justice to the current generation phone, leave alone its future avatars.

 

[Pathik]

man "i" has sheer class... if it names its fone something else it might lose atleast .001% of its fan following.... wich it wouldnt want to

 

[khin007]

i think apple i-phone is a big hit in the mobile phone market anyway

 

[iMav]

imav3 .... ipathiks ... iarayaush ... imail2andy .... iraaabo .... ibill gates

 

[aryayush]

i think apple i-phone is a big hit in the mobile phone market anyway

Of course.