(image courtesy of the Cult of Mac blog at Wired)
No sooner than did Steve Jobs walk off the stage after announcing the iPhone to the world than did Cisco file suit for trademark infringement over the use of the term “iPhone,” as Linksys (a Cisco brand) had released a VOIP phone called the “iPhone” only a few weeks prior. (A completely forgettable product, I’m afraid.) Cisco does indeed own the trademark in the United States for the term “iPhone,” and while Apple owns the trademark in various other countries, if Cisco’s position is backed up by a judge, then Apple has a serious problem on its hands. In reality, Cisco and Apple were apparently in negotiations to use the term “iPhone” down to the wire before MacWorld Expo, and negotiations reportedly “broke down.”
In all honesty, this seems a little fishy. It would appear that Cisco had to know that Apple was planning on developing an iPhone long before it registered the trademark, and it couldn’t have been good for the so-called “negotiations” when Linksys revealed its VOIP iPhone. Apple then turns around and unveils its own iPhone at the MacWorld Expo, which also can’t be good for those same “negotiations,” if indeed they were still going after Linksys announced its product. It’s remarkable how easily the Apple haters (usually in the camp of those who don’t have a reason to dislike Apple, they just think it’s cool to hate Apple these days. I think Penny Arcade covered the point in this comic) remember Apple’s violation of the trademark, and violation it is, but forget that Linksys likely stabbed Apple in the back during negotiations for use of the trademark.
Even so, this battle will likely come to an incredibly unfulfilling end for the Apple fanatics as well as the Apple haters, Apple will likely pay Cisco a large sum of money to just go away and allow Apple to continue selling the iPhone as is without a name change, and the matter will make a few headlines for a while, and that will be that. The Apple iPhone will sell like hotcakes, the Linksys iPhone will largely be forgotten in a field of largely superior VOIP/home phone integration devices, and everyone will move on to find another reason to love or hate Apple. Neither company is operating out of altruism here, they’re operating to get your money. There’s no reason to expect anything less, no reason to expect some blowout battle with fireworks and flashy special effects, no reason to expect Steve Jobs and John Chambers to get out their pistols and meet at dawn. This is a business matter, pure and simple, and either company would have done this to the other (and in fact, each company very much did do this to the other) if they should they could make money by doing it.
[ PC World :: What’s in the iPhone Name? Cisco Sues Apple ]
In the end, Leander Kahney, writing for Wired.com and the Cult of Mac blog there, has an excellent analysis from his discussions with a trademark lawyer about the issue, namely that both companies like probably wind up keeping their respective product names, thus rendering Cisco’s trademark impotent in the face of Apple’s product engineering and marketing juggernaut-like power. Similarly, Apple will probably have to pay Cisco off in the long run for the privilege, and the whole thing will be rightfully forgotten as an unimportant debate:
[ Cult of Mac (Wired) :: Ask an Attorney: Apple and Cisco Will Share ‘iPhone’ ]