Cisco, Apple Settle iPhone Dispute

After filing a trademark infringement lawsuit a couple of months ago, Cisco has dismissed any pending legal actions with Apple regarding the 'iPhone' trademark, and the companies have agreed to share the mark.

In the lawsuit filed January 10, Cisco alleged that Apple's use of the iPhone mark constituted a "willful and malicious" violation of the trademark that Cisco has owned since 2000. Apple claimed that because its phone and Cisco’s phone operate over different networks, that they would not compete with each other. Cisco countered that the phones would eventually go head-to-head because of the phones' expansion capabilities.

Because the companies have agreed to share the mark, speculation exists that they will work together to develop products that share both of the companies' technologies. Although the companies have not stated anything about a specific product, a likely product might utilize Cisco's networking expertise and Apple's user experience expertise.