Cisco Suing Apple For iPhone Trademark Infringement

[Zadillo]

Bollocks, Apple has something that Cisco doesn't. Brand recognition. Cisco has every right to be litigious in this matter, but you can bet that Apple's brand clout has more than a little to do with Cisco's choice to sue. All the legal coverage of this dispute will get both phones on TV, but unfortunately, I think no matter what Apple comes out on top as far as the exposure thing goes.

Yeah, I think that's actually becoming clearer.

Honestly, who here even knew that Cisco had the iPhone trademark?

I honestly didn't until I saw the news story in December about the iPhone being launched, and the big surprise was that it was a Cisco/Linksys VOIP product. But what of course made that a surprise is that almost everyone had been using the iPhone name to refer to Apple's rumored phone.

That zdnet post above seems to indicate that Cisco had been sitting on the trademark for a long time, and it definitely seems like they might not have even bothered putting the name on a product until they really knew that Apple had some interest in it.

It seems awfully suspicious now that Cisco released a new 'iPhone' product only weeks before Apple ended up launching their product. It makes it pretty clear I think that Cisco in fact did want to get some press out of this (and again, honestly, who the heck would be talking about Cisco and their VOIP phones otherwise?).

I just think it is pretty funny that the end result of this could be that Cisco didn't even properly protect their trademark before, and let it be abandoned, and didn't start using it until too late (when they knew Apple wanted it, and thought they could do something to try and squeeze money out of Apple or publicity or the "interoperability" to try and find some way for Cisco products to get some sales thanks to Apple's product).

-Zadillo

 

[Hashton]

Hexogenia,

wicked theory, if Apple did it, it is a very smart move, if this is not their intension, then they have found a loop hole in the iPhone Trademark and with A-Team of lawyers they can literally bend Cisco *smiles*

 

[ascender]

How bizarre. I'm sure it'll be worked out, but its like Cisco announcing a new networking product called the iPod. Its not an MP3 player and they don't own the trademark for it, so they think they can just get away with it.

I'm sure if it was that way round, people would be quick to slag off Cisco and declare them to be no better than Microsoft, boycott them now, etc.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Either way in the end this entire iPhone thing is bad for apple. If apple losses they have to deal with all those issues and will not be able to use iPhone.

If apple wins they can use iPhone but so can everyone else and apple would have ZERO legal power to stop them since iPhone would no longer be a trademark term so anyone can use iPhone as a name for there phone saying it has some type of Internet compatible including selling cell phones under that name.
So in apple best interested it might be to lose this case and spend the money it would take to get the trademark on it or at the very least apple will have a name for its phone that is not generic and it would keep it safe from everyone using that name.

 

[cgc]

Either way in the end this entire iPhone thing is bad for apple. If apple losses they have to deal with all those issues and will not be able to use iPhone.

If apple wins they can use iPhone but so can everyone else and apple would have ZERO legal power to stop them since iPhone would no longer be a trademark term so anyone can use iPhone as a name for there phone saying it has some type of Internet compatible including selling cell phones under that name.
So in apple best interested it might be to lose this case and spend the money it would take to get the trademark on it or at the very least apple will have a name for its phone that is not generic and it would keep it safe from everyone using that name.

No...there are issues with Cisco's trademark that would not apply to the iPod, for example. Put for your pitchfork and torches, it will all be ok.

 

[Diatribe]

Check this out..

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=236

I guess Apple found out at the last minute and decided not to go through the deal with Cisco.

Yeah I read that too, it would be pretty hilarious if Apple gets the Trademark because Cisco abandoned it and then sued Cisco because of infringement

 

[Rodimus Prime]

No...there are issues with Cisco's trademark that would not apply to the iPod, for example. Put for your pitchfork and torches, it will all be ok.

I think you missed the point.
Apple is going to try to prove the Cisco did not have anything using the trademark term (iPhone) and by doing so it would remove the trademark on it allowing any one to use it. In doing so apple has no way to stop any one else from selling a product under the name iPhone since it is not a trademark term.

If apple loses they can not use it at all.

in the end it is a loss loss for apple.

 

[Zadillo]

I think you missed the point.
Apple is going to try to prove the Cisco did not have anything using the trademark term (iPhone) and by doing so it would remove the trademark on it allowing any one to use it. In doing so apple has no way to stop any one else from selling a product under the name iPhone since it is not a trademark term.

If apple loses they can not use it at all.

in the end it is a loss loss for apple.

That's not true. As other articles have pointed out, the next company in line for the rights to the trademark is Ocean Telecom, which is widely believed to be a front company used by Apple to register for the trademark without giving away what they were doing.

I don't see where you get that an Apple victory invalidating Cisco's trademark would allow anyone to use it.

-Zadillo

 

[madmax_2069]

if someone loses a trademark term it becomes open and then the next person can make it a trademark term and once that is done no one else can use that term unless they dump it or lose it.