The dispute between Apple and Cisco relating to the trademark IPHONE was just settled on February 21, 2007.
The two companies were opposing since Apple had launched its new widescreen mobile phone on January, 9, 2007, one month after Linksys ( a Cisco subsidiary) had launched its Iphone.
The two companies were opposing since Apple had launched its new widescreen mobile phone on January, 9, 2007, one month after Linksys ( a Cisco subsidiary) had launched its Iphone.
Cisco, the owner of the Iphone trademarks filed in 1999 in the United States and in 1998 in the European Community, decided to bring an action against Apple on the basis of its prior rights.
Apple started preparing its defense which could have been grounded on the following arguments:
– Apple owns a family of trademarks starting with the prefix I : ITunes, Ipod, Ilife, Istudent, Ireview, etc
– Cisco’s Iphone trademarks would not have been used from 1999 to 2005
– Several other trademarks Iphone are already coexisting
-The products Cisco and Apple intended to develop were not identical It is very interesting to know that the Apple Community trademark IPHONE, filed in 2002 had first been rejected by the OHIM for lack of distinctive character.
In its response before the Second Board of Appeal in October 2005, Apple did not hesitate to stress the prior existence of its family of trademarks and also the registration of the prior CTM Iphone of Cisco. The two companies finally decided to settle the matter by amicable agreement the content of which is unknown but probably includes some financial compensation for Cisco or at least an interoperability agreement between the two products.