Cisco Sues Apple over iPhone Brand

Elena
11 Jan, 2007
New York City

Cisco accuses Apple of violating a trademark which it has owned since 2000, as a result of buying InfoGear. Since December, Cisco''s wireless division, Linksys, has been shipping a family of cordless and wireless phones under the iPhone brand. However, Apple defends its rights, saying that it is entitled to use the name iPhone because the products are materially different.

[R]8:00AM Cisco Systems Inc. sued Apple over its iPhone.[/R]
Cisco Systems Inc. ((CSCO)), the world''s largest networking equipment maker, sued Apple ((AAPL)) in San Francisco federal court on Wednesday, claiming that the maker of computers and media players doesn''t have permission to name its latest device the iPhone. It is a touch-screen-controlled cell phone device that plays music, surfs the Web and delivers voicemail and e-mail. The product hasn''t received FCC approval yet.

Cisco accuses Apple of violating a trademark which it has owned since 2000, as a result of buying InfoGear, which owned the trademark previously. Since December, Cisco''s wireless division, Linksys, has been shipping a family of cordless and wireless phones under the iPhone brand. Apple defends its rights, saying that it is entitled to use the name iPhone because the products are materially different.

Cisco Systems said Apple approached the company several years ago seeking to use the name. Since then, the two Silicon Valley tech giants have been negotiating, trying to reach a licensing agreement, but the talks broke down just hours before Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, appeared to introduce the multimedia device at the annual Macworld Conference and Expo on Tuesday.
Before the lawsuit was announced, Apple''s shares closed up $4.43 to $97. Apple shares fell 40 cents to $96.60 in after-hours trading. Cisco''s shares closed up 21 cents to $28.68 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In after-hours trading, Cisco shares gained 9 cents to $28.77.


[R]7:30 AM Asian markets fell Thursday, Japan led the decline on rate fears.[/R]
Asian markets declined Thursday. Tokyo''s Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.6% at 16,838.17. Tokyo Electron rose 1.2% after the company said orders for chip-making equipment rose sharply in the July-to-September period. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. gained 0.9% after unveiling a business strategy aimed at boosting profits. Toyota Motor Corp reversed early gains to end 0.4% lower. However, Honda Motor Corp rose 0.4%.

Hong Kong''s blue chip Hang Seng Index ended 0.9% lower at 19,385.37. The China Enterprises Index, following shares of mainland-incorporated companies listed in Hong Kong, shed 1.4% to 9,511.76. The Kospi in South Korea ended 0.70% higher at 1,365.31. Samsung Electronics advanced 1%. Samsung will reportedly supply semiconductors for the new iPhone of Apple.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% at 5,564.90, but China Shanghai Composite shed 2.1% to 2,765.40, Malaysia KLSE Composite dipped 0.6%, Taiwan Weighted Price Index gave up 0.6% and Indonesia JSX Composite lost 0.4%.


[R]6:30 AM European shares were higher on Thursday on techs, Metro.[/R]
European markets advanced in early trade on Thursday. The U.K. FTSE 100 advanced 0.5% at 6,188.60, the German DAX Xetra 30 index gained 0.6% at 6,606.09 and the French CAC-40 index rose 0.6% at 5,532.11.

Advancers

Of updates, shares in German retailer Metro Group rose 2.1% as its 2006 sales gained 7.5% to around 60 billion euros, helped by sales growth of 1.9% in Germany and international sales growth of 12.4%. Dutch bank ABN Amro advanced 2.6% after Merrill Lynch upgraded the company to buy. Deutsche Bank upgraded U.K. broadcaster ITV to buy from hold. ITV shares rose 2.6% in London. Spanish tobacco company Altadis advanced 1.6% on a report that Imperial Tobacco Group is considering a 10 billion-euro bid for its Franco-Spanish rival.

Miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto climbed more than 1.9%. Technology sector was higher with Nokia advancing 1.5% and Infineon Technologies up 1.6% on strength in the technology sector and Alcoa Inc. strong start to the fourth-quarter earnings season. Vodafone Group Plc, the world''s largest cellular-phone company, rose 0.5. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. raised its recommendation Vodafone shares to overweight from equal weight.

Decliners

U.K. supermarket chain J. Sainsbury declined 1.6% after it said that its third-quarter comparable sales increased 4.2%, or 5% excluding fuel.

Oil and gold

Crude oil declined and was below $54 a barrel, after U.S. demand for fuel dipped to its lowest in more than two years. Crude oil for February delivery fell $1.08, or 2%, to $52.94 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for February settlement shed $1.09, or 2%, to $52.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the ICE Futures exchange. Gold for immediate delivery lost $1.70, or 0.3%, to $609.60 an ounce.

Currencies

The euro advanced to 155.96 yen in early trade in London from 154.77 late yesterday in New York. It also was at $1.2964 against the dollar from $1.2938. The yen fell to 120.29 against the dollar, from 119.64.