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When Apple was rumored to be working on a phone, after the debacle of the Motorola Rockr, the obvious guess was iPhone. But Cisco held the trademark on “iphone”

When Apple was rumored to be working on a phone, after the debacle of the Motorola Rockr, the obvious guess was iPhone. But Cisco held the trademark on “iphone” for some crappy IP phone. There were rumors that Apple was interested in the name but Cisco would not play ball. And of course Apple did announce their phone with that name anyway. This is one reason you heard gasps in the audience when the iPhone name slide came up. A lot of those folks knew about the Cisco thing. Cisco sued and Apple settled. Does anyone remember that Cisco used to own that name? Probably not. I doubt this little company can stop what Facebook has already announced. I hope they get paid, though—if just from a sense of rooting for an underdog.

throwoutway 5y ago
Cisco also owns IOS operating system. and I seem to recall the Apple is paying/paid them millions for the name. Was that part of the settlement or separate? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_IOS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_IOS
- snowwrestler 5y ago
  Not sure but I would guess separate, because Apple did not start calling it iOS until much later. At the iPhone launch they called it OS X, then later it was iPhone OS.
anonAndOn 5y ago
I remember. [0] [0]http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2015/06/the-forgotten-story-of-the-iphone-released-in-1998/ http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2015/06/the-forgotten-...
frays 5y ago
This is very interesting, thank you for sharing.
touringa 5y ago
“[Cisco executive] Charles Giancarlo fielded a call directly from Steve Jobs. “Steve called in and said that he wanted it,” Giancarlo recalled. “He didn’t offer us anything for it. It was just like a promise he’d be our best friend. And we said, ‘No, we’re planning on using it.’ “Shortly after that, Apple’s legal department called to say they thought Cisco had “abandoned the brand,” meaning that in Apple’s legal opinion Cisco hadn’t adequately defended its intellectual property rights by promoting the name. To Apple’s way of thinking this meant the name iPhone was available for Apple’s use. Giancarlo, who subsequently joined the prominent Silicon Valley private-equity firm Silver Lake partners, said Cisco threatened litigation before the launch. Then, the day after Apple announced its iPhone, Cisco filed suit. The negotiation displayed some classic Steve Jobs negotiating tactics. Giancarlo said Jobs called him at home at dinnertime on Valentine’s Day, as the two sides were haggling. Jobs talked for a while, Giancarlo related. “And then he said to me, ‘Can you get email at home?'” Giancarlo was taken aback. This was 2007, after all, when broadband Internet was ubiquitous in homes in the US, let alone that of a Silicon Valley executive who had worked for years on advanced Internet technology. “And he’s asking me if I’m able to get email at home. You know he’s just trying to press my buttons—in the nicest possible way.” Cisco gave up the fight shortly after that. The two sides reached a vague agreement to cooperate on areas of mutual interest.” https://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/01/27/apple-cisco-iphone-trademark/ https://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/01/27/apple-cisco-iphone-...

throwoutway 5y ago

Cisco also owns IOS operating system. and I seem to recall the Apple is paying/paid them millions for the name. Was that part of the settlement or separate? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_IOS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_IOS

snowwrestler 5y ago
Not sure but I would guess separate, because Apple did not start calling it iOS until much later. At the iPhone launch they called it OS X, then later it was iPhone OS.

anonAndOn 5y ago

I remember. [0] [0]http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2015/06/the-forgotten-story-of-the-iphone-released-in-1998/ http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2015/06/the-forgotten-...

frays 5y ago

This is very interesting, thank you for sharing.

touringa 5y ago

“[Cisco executive] Charles Giancarlo fielded a call directly from Steve Jobs. “Steve called in and said that he wanted it,” Giancarlo recalled. “He didn’t offer us anything for it. It was just like a promise he’d be our best friend. And we said, ‘No, we’re planning on using it.’ “Shortly after that, Apple’s legal department called to say they thought Cisco had “abandoned the brand,” meaning that in Apple’s legal opinion Cisco hadn’t adequately defended its intellectual property rights by promoting the name. To Apple’s way of thinking this meant the name iPhone was available for Apple’s use. Giancarlo, who subsequently joined the prominent Silicon Valley private-equity firm Silver Lake partners, said Cisco threatened litigation before the launch. Then, the day after Apple announced its iPhone, Cisco filed suit. The negotiation displayed some classic Steve Jobs negotiating tactics. Giancarlo said Jobs called him at home at dinnertime on Valentine’s Day, as the two sides were haggling. Jobs talked for a while, Giancarlo related. “And then he said to me, ‘Can you get email at home?'” Giancarlo was taken aback. This was 2007, after all, when broadband Internet was ubiquitous in homes in the US, let alone that of a Silicon Valley executive who had worked for years on advanced Internet technology. “And he’s asking me if I’m able to get email at home. You know he’s just trying to press my buttons—in the nicest possible way.” Cisco gave up the fight shortly after that. The two sides reached a vague agreement to cooperate on areas of mutual interest.” https://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/01/27/apple-cisco-iphone-trademark/ https://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/01/27/apple-cisco-iphone-...