“Cisco could be on the brink of losing the rights to the iPhone trade mark in Europe, according to trade mark experts. Apple could end up with European rights to iPhone, in contrast to reports around the world suggesting that Cisco’s rights were absolute,” OUT-LAW.COM reports.

OUT-LAW.COM reports, “Cisco this week sued Apple over its use of the iPhone name for its new mobile telephone. Cisco holds US and European trade marks in the name and negotiations over a licensing deal between the companies had broken down, Cisco said.”

“Trade mark specialist Lee Curtis of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, has found a legal loophole, though, which could strip Cisco of its European rights. He told technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio that in Europe a person can lodge a revocation application against a trade mark registration if the trade mark has not been used for the past five years,” OUT-LAW.COM reports. “Just such a revocation was lodged by a German law firm, CMS, on exactly the same day, 18th December 2006, on which Cisco launched the iPhone.”

“OUT-LAW can find no use in Europe of the iPhone trade mark in the five years preceding that revocation application, which means Cisco’s ownership of the trade mark is under threat in Europe. Though there are references in US media to Linksys products dating from 2005 using the iPhone name, this is unlikely to count as use in Europe unless there were sales into the EU or Linksys, a subsidiary of Cisco, undertook advertising and promotional activity in the EU,” OUT-LAW.COM reports. “If CMS filed its revocation application before Cisco launched its product, meaning earlier that day, then Cisco will lose the trade mark rights.”

OUT-LAW.COM reports, “Apple has the oldest application for the mark so would almost certainly then own the trade mark in Europe.”

Full article here.

[Attribution: The Register. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Gandalf" for the heads up.]

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