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First you had the format wars, and now you have the iPhone wars.  We thought Apple and Cisco were playing nice with each other over the name iPhone, but apparently Apple was thinking differently.  Cisco says that they were in “extensive discussions” to negotiate terms for an agreement, but it looks like Apple’s lawyers feel it’s unnecessary to be civil.  Unless there is paperwork to prove that Apple filed for the trademark before Cisco did, then this is ridiculous.  Here’s what Cisco’s CEO had to say about the debockle:

“Cisco entered into negotiations with Apple in good faith after Apple repeatedly asked permission to use Cisco’s iPhone name,“ said Mark Chandler, senior vice president and general counsel, Cisco. “There is no doubt that Apple’s new phone is very exciting, but they should not be using our trademark without our permission.

“Today’s iPhone is not tomorrow’s iPhone. The potential for convergence of the home phone, cell phone, work phone and PC is limitless, which is why it is so important for us to protect our brand,“ Chandler concluded.

No word has come out of Apple yet, so we’re assuming they’re staying quiet on the matter until they either win big, or lose big.

Cisco iPhone [Gadgetell]
Apple iPhone [Gadgetell]

Read [Press Release] Via [Dvorak]

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