14 DAY TRIAL // As it happens with most legal battles that are raging between large companies, the details that slip to the press are as precious as water in the desert, and this is one more reason for me to become really glad when I bump into new details about the high profile match between Cisco and Apple.
Obviously, everyone knows by now that between Apple and Cisco has started a legal dispute over the iPhone name, although after the device's launch at this year's Macworld Expo held in San Francisco, things were looking fine. The problems appeared really fast, since the next day, despite the fact that Cisco officials said that the talks with Apple are going well and they may reach an agreement, they announced the iPhone name issue will be solved in court. Well... that was in the past, so let's move into the present now, shall we?
Now, what has been described as "a minor skirmish" by Cisco's CEO, John Chambers, continues with a small agreement. Unfortunately, they are not getting closer to the end of this, but they are making it last longer, it seems. Cisco agreed to give Apple more time to answer their lawsuit, since they are willing to give the iPhone name for interoperability of Apple's iPhone with Cisco's products. Obviously, this requires time and some technical expertise before a final decision can be taken, but I think they will get this over with the right way. It's not what I think, it's that THEY MUST.
While Cisco calls the suit "a minor skirmish", Apple's Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, called it just "silly", saying that Cisco's trademark registration was "tenuous at best", and proving confidence in their chances to win.
Well, it seems that we have to add another entry to our "news waiting list" and watch out for what may pop up regarding this subject in the near future, because the way I see things at this time, this match is yet to be decided, and we still have some time to wait.