23 February 2007 ~ View Comments

iPhone Deal Unprecedented?

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By now we've all heard about Apple and Cisco agreeing to "share" the iPhone trademark. I'm not at all surprised that a deal was reached, even if it did take much longer than expected. What I'm wondering is this: has there ever been another case of a company (Cisco) agreeing to let another company (Apple) use its trademark to identify a product so similar to its own? I'm an unabashed Apple lover and Steve Jobs fan, but I'm shocked that he has this much clout or could pull this off. I mean, he basically got Chambers et al. to pseudo-abandon the trademark, which Cisco clearly owned. Anyone know of any similar cases where this sort of agreement has been reached?

  • Bryan
    Michael, it wouldn't surprise me if Apple had payed some dough to make this thing happen. However, I have heard nothing that suggests this happened. My understanding is that financial agreements will be acknowledged, even if they are accompanied by the "...but financial terms were not disclosed" appendage.
  • Michael
    Wouldn't you think that Apple paid an arm and a leg for this. Don't be confused into thinking that Cisco didn't look after their best intrest in this deal.
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