Wednesday, January 10, 2007
iSee, iPhone, iSue!
My eventual goal when I grow up (for the second time) is to become an intellectual property attorney, just like the father of a famous cartoonist. That's why I was rather amused to see that Apple is being sued by Internet infrastructure giant, Cisco for the use of the trademark name iPhone.
Being a curious pre-law student, I went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website to search the trademark name. Just as Cisco claims, the trademark is registered to the company they acquired (www.uspto.gov).
Can't wait to see how this one plays out. Will Apple settle out-of-court by cutting Cisco a deal involving sales percentages? Or will they duke it out in the federal courts?
Aspiring fines want to know ...
Stayed tuned. A good IP blog site covering such lawsuits here. Personally, I think the idea of paying $500 for a over-hyped phone is ridiculous, but then again I'm a budget conscious shopper. There are already phones that play MP3s, and it's not as if I-Tunes is so unique in its music selection offerings that Microsoft, Napster, or other services couldn't manufacture the same type of stylish device at a much more affordable price.
Until the Apple/Cisco lawsuit is resolved, click on the link to enjoy a wonderful song about a more famous intellectual property lawsuit.
Update: VENDOR, VIDI, VICI.
Sorry, couldn't resist the lousy latin pun. It was either that, or "Cisco, Kid, Ain't No Friend of Mine." America's Greatest Newspaper---oops, sorry RAG---America's SECOND Greatest Newspaper, the Wall Street Journal had a good summation of the Apple/Cisco/iPhone tussle in its legal section. According to the WSJ story, it's not the infringement that bothers Cisco so much, as Apple's unwillingness to let others get a piece of the telecom action.
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Being a curious pre-law student, I went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website to search the trademark name. Just as Cisco claims, the trademark is registered to the company they acquired (www.uspto.gov).
Can't wait to see how this one plays out. Will Apple settle out-of-court by cutting Cisco a deal involving sales percentages? Or will they duke it out in the federal courts?
Aspiring fines want to know ...
Stayed tuned. A good IP blog site covering such lawsuits here. Personally, I think the idea of paying $500 for a over-hyped phone is ridiculous, but then again I'm a budget conscious shopper. There are already phones that play MP3s, and it's not as if I-Tunes is so unique in its music selection offerings that Microsoft, Napster, or other services couldn't manufacture the same type of stylish device at a much more affordable price.
Until the Apple/Cisco lawsuit is resolved, click on the link to enjoy a wonderful song about a more famous intellectual property lawsuit.
Update: VENDOR, VIDI, VICI.
Sorry, couldn't resist the lousy latin pun. It was either that, or "Cisco, Kid, Ain't No Friend of Mine." America's Greatest Newspaper---oops, sorry RAG---America's SECOND Greatest Newspaper, the Wall Street Journal had a good summation of the Apple/Cisco/iPhone tussle in its legal section. According to the WSJ story, it's not the infringement that bothers Cisco so much, as Apple's unwillingness to let others get a piece of the telecom action.
Labels: George Harrison, Intellectual Property, iPhone, lawsuits
