Cisco Sues Apple over use of iPhone Trademark

Due to all of the buzz over the years, it makes sense that the launch of the Apple iPhone would not happen without some form of controversy. Cisco, who owns the iPhone trademark and already sells Voice over IP products using the iPhone name, sued Apple for trademark infringement just one day after Apple announced the iPhone. Cisco acquired the iPhone trademark when it bought Infogear in 2000. Infogear originally filed for the iPhone trademark in 1996.

Apple has been in negotiations with Cisco for several years, first approaching them in 2001 regarding use of the iPhone trademark. Negotiations broke down the night before the announcement from Apple.

"We think Cisco's trademark lawsuit is silly," Apple spokesman Alan Hely said. "There are already several companies using the name iPhone for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) products. We are the first company to ever use the iPhone name for a cell phone, and if Cisco wants to challenge us on it we are very confident we will prevail."