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Apple and Cisco Settle Trademark Lawsuit Over iPhone.

SAN JOSE, February 21, 2007 -- Cisco Systems and Apple announced Wednesday they have settled the trademark-infringement lawsuit over the iPhone tradeark.

Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 when it acquired Infogear, a small California, start-up company that developed consumer devices that allowed people to access the Internet without a PC. Infogear registered the iPhone trademark in March 1996.

Cisco sued Apple for trademark infringement upon Apple's unveiling of the multimedia phone called the iPhone. Cisco plead in its complaint that Apple made prior attempts to get rights to the iPhone name several times. After Cisco refused Apple's offers, Apple created a front company in an further attempt to acquire rights to the iPhone trademark.

The settlement agreement reached allows Apple and Cisco to use the iPhone brand on their own respective products. The companies also announced that they would explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security and of consumer and business communications. Neither company would discuss the financial terms of the agreement, citing confidentiality provisions contained in the agreement.