Mike Stopforth

So it seems Gizmodo was right. The iPhone rumour is indeed a reality, but believe it or not, Apple does not own the trademark for it. Cisco does. From the BusinessWeek report:

A joke making the rounds on the Web Dec. 15 said the iPhone will be released on Dec. 18.

Here’s the punch line: It’s true. Not only that, but the company unveiling the device isn’t Apple Computer (AAPL). Instead, the manufacturer behind a series of new products bearing the iPhone name is Linksys, a unit of networking equipment maker Cisco Systems (CSCO).

The company is announcing a series of Web-enabled telephone handsets designed to work with Internet calling services such as Skype, a division of eBay (EBAY), and other services, including SIP Phone’s Gizmo Project.

Cisco rightfully owns the trademark for iPhone. And Apple can’t sue them or bully them into giving it up. The tech world had taken the title for granted, assumed it to be proper, plastered it over magazine covers, and now the name is lost. Which means Apple’s iPhone, if there even is an iPhone, will have to be named something else. It’s a big deal, if you think about what that name meant.

The idiocy of the crowd… (again).

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