San Francisco: Network giant Cisco has sued Apple for trademark infringement, saying that it owned the rights to the name iPhone – the mobile device unveiled to ecstatic reviews by Apple.
Cisco on Wednesday said it had filed a suit in a federal court in San Francisco, and that it had launched its own Internet phone called the iPhone just three weeks ago.
The two companies had been negotiating over use of the name, but Apple apparently unveiled the device on Tuesday before reaching agreement.
"There is no doubt that Apple's new phone is very exciting, but they should not be using our trademark without our permission," said Mark Chandler, Cisco senior vice president and general counsel, in a statement.
"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."
Apple said that Cisco's right to the name did not extend to cell phones.
"We are the first company to use the name iPhone for a cell phone, and if Cisco wants to challenge us on it, we are very confident we will prevail," Apple spokesperson Steve Dowling told the Bloomberg financial news agency.
"There are already several companies using the name iPhone for voice-over-IP products. We believe Cisco's US trademark registration is tenuous at best."
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