Tech giants Cisco Systems and Apple, Inc. have settled their trademark dispute over the use of the name "iPhone", the companies announced Wednesday. Cisco filed a lawsuit against Apple in mid-January, and under the settlement agreement both companies will share the "iPhone" name and explore opportunities for greater cooperation, possibly including development of collaborative projects. Other terms of the settlement remain confidential. Cisco has held the trademark "iPhone" since the year 2000. Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled Apple's cellular iPhone at a San Francisco tradeshow in January, despite not having agreed to the terms proposed by Cisco for use of the name. The two companies had been negotiating terms of a deal for several years, and were close to agreeing on terms as late as a few hours before Jobs made his announcement. The lack of an agreement before Apple's unveiling prompted Cisco's suit. Apple argued that Cisco's iPhone, which does not operate on cellular networks, but instead operates over the Internet, was materially different from their own. |