Apple iPhone
Cisco and Apple have agreed to joint use of the iPhone trademark

Apple and Cisco settle iPhone spat

Rivals call it a draw

Ian Williams

Cisco and Apple have come to an agreement about the iPhone trademark under which both companies will use the name.

The pair are free to use the iPhone trademark throughout the world, and will dismiss any pending legal actions.

Advertisement

Precise terms of the deal are being kept secret by both companies, but it has emerged that Cisco and Apple will explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security and consumer/enterprise communications.

Precisely what this means is anybody's guess and has analysts scratching their heads as to what may come out of such exploration.

Zeus Kerravala, a network infrastructure analyst at Yankee Group, believes there are ample opportunities for the companies to dream up collaborative projects to win over consumers.

However, he warned that both firms need to be willing to share in order to make the partnership work. Given that Apple is notoriously guarded about its products, the industry is sceptical about the possibility of collaboration.

The iPhone spat kicked off last month when Cisco sued Apple the day after chief executive Steve Jobs announced the new iPhone at the Macworld expo.  

Discussions over the trademark had been taking place between the companies before Jobs's announcement, but apparently broke down just hours before the official launch.

Cisco's Linksys division introduced a series of seven VoIP devices in December 2006 under the 'iPhone' brand.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Tags:

Do you agree?

Further reading

Apple iPhone

Jobs announces the mighty iPhone

Apple 'reinvents the phone', declares chief exec

Apple iPhone

Apple iPhone court battle delayed

Apple and Cisco agree to continue negotiations for use of trademark

Cisco sues Apple over iPhone brand

Trademark suit seeks to block Apple from using 'iPhone' name

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

eu flag

V3.co.uk weekly debrief, 6 Nov 09

This week, Europe decides what to do with illegal file sharers

Intel unveils its micro server platform

Small-enclosure systems take aim at hosting market

Analysis and Reports

Remote access - Three steps to getting connected

3.4 million UK professionals now work from home – is your company equipped?

Cost benefits of a global collaboration network

This white paper is a must read for organisations looking for evidence of the bottom-line benefits of high-definition video and voice communications

Poll

Impact of Information Overload poll

Impact of Information Overload poll

What is the biggest problem your firm faces as a result of the data explosion?

View poll results

Advertisement

White paper library

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; IThound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Advertisement

Spotlight

shackleton

Content management tools "barely being used"

Open Text chief predicts more consolidation in ECM market

Scott Totzke

Interview: Scott Totzke, VP global security, RIM

We ask the BlackBerry maker's head of security what CIOs...

Apple Magic Mouse

Review: Apple Magic Mouse

Multi-touch makes an appearance on Apple's latest mouse

clouds

Industry needs to come clean on cloud security

Trend Micro CTO warns of widespread data theft

Primary Navigation