iWONDER

The IPKat has been deluged by eager IP lawyers (hat-tip Jim Davies, Louise Fullwood, James Heath and Rhyan Probert and SMP) keen to see him comment on the Cisco/Apple dispute over the iPhone trade mark.

According to the Guardian Apple launched the iPhone combined phone and MP3 player this week. Cisco objects that it owns the iPhone trade mark, after acquiring Infogear in 2000. Infogear had owned the trade mark since 1996. Cisco, which says that it has been in negotiations with Apple for some time, has now filed suit in the Northern District of California.

The IPKat, ever the conspiracy theorist, notes that while the iPhone was only launched yesterday, its existence and, more to the point, the fact that Apple was seeking a trade mark for it, has been common knowledge for months. A search of Google News a little while ago would have thrown up lots of stories about how Apple had applied for the iTunes trade mark. The timing of the lawsuit, or at least its announcement, appears to be timed to draw maximum attention to Cisco’s iPhone product.