On this post by Mark Chandler – Cisco’s SVP and General Counsel reveals some of the issues and details on their dealing with Apple. Cisco acquired the iPhone trademark when they bought over Infogear Technology in 2000. Infogear was the original company which had filed the registration since 1995. Apple has allegedly approached Cisco for the iPhone trademark since 2001. Apple knew about this for quite a while.
I wondered what Cisco was getting from the deal in my previous post
What were the issues at the table that kept us from an agreement? Was it money? No. Was it a royalty on every Apple phone? No. Was it an exchange for Cisco products or services? No.
What they were looking for is this:
Fundamentally we wanted an open approach. We hoped our products could interoperate in the future. In our view, the network provides the basis to make this happen—it provides the foundation of innovation that allows converged devices to deliver the services that consumers want. Our goal was to take that to the next level by facilitating collaboration with Apple. And we wanted to make sure to differentiate the brands in a way that could work for both companies and not confuse people, since our products combine both web access and voice telephony. That’s it. Openness and clarity.
Alright so they wanted their products to talk to each other. So what is the Cisco iPhone? This product page may shed some light. It is a Wireless-G WIP320 phone which is Skype compatible. This press release from Cisco regarding the iPhone also describes its features. Looks like Apple didn’t like what Cisco had to offer. They didn’t reply to their offer and went ahead with the iPhone branding. They must have something up their sleeve, a company such as Apple wouldn’t go forward in such a manner.
Apple’s willful violation has Cisco pissed off, and people wondering what’s going on?
Rushi's Ramblings 