“Maybe Apple will get to call its cell phone the iPhone after all,” David Berlind blogs for ZDNet. “Today, a trusted source forwarded to me via email the following summary detailing the history of the trademark and the secret negotiations between Apple and Cisco that are underway right now, as I write this blog:”
• Apple has known about the iPhone trademark for years and approached Cisco starting in December 2001
• Cisco declined because of existing and planned product lines
• Apple has approached Cisco 3 times over the past year for rights to the iPhone trademark
• Cisco again declined because of existing and planned product lines
• More recently (last few weeks) high level negotiations for a “shared approach”
• It seems that in this case both an Apple cell phone and a Cisco VOIP phone would co-exist with the iPhone branding
• I think these discussions are still active and ongoing
Full article with much more here.
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