Enterprise Pain Points

Alright Tech Fans!

The SuperBowl of Trademark infringement lawsuits is set to begin! This should be fun to watch. Cisco acquired the trademark through acquisition in the U.S. and Apple owns the trademark outside of the U.S. Who wins? Who Loses? Read on for the answers.
Cisco defines the iPhone on their site as follows: What is the iPhone?

iPhone is about a new age of communications, with voice applications at the core. An age that is about more than just dialing a phone number and waiting to see if someone on the other end answers. Devices in this new age are expected to deliver more than just a connection to friends, loved ones, and colleagues. They now must deliver on the promise of particular types of content tailored to your specific needs.

The variety of features available on Linksys iPhones will change the way you communicate with friends and family. iPhone products offer compelling internet services using popular clients like Skype and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice that display real-time contact list and presence information letting you know if the party you want to call is available. Enjoy access to personal content like music, photos, and live video cameras from sources on the Internet. In short, Linksys iPhones give you the ability to do more with your phone than talk!

iPhone and Linksys are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc.

The iPhone is of course “The iPhone” the most sensational device every made to communicate, listen to music, and run hand-held apps on ever made. No other explanation necessary unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 72 hours.

The germane question will be “likelihood of confusion”. According to some very smart people at Harvard:

To be more specific, the use of a trademark in connection with the sale of a good constitutes infringement if it is likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source of those goods or as to the sponsorship or approval of such goods. In deciding whether consumers are likely to be confused, the courts will typically look to a number of factors, including: (1) the strength of the mark; (2) the proximity of the goods; (3) the similarity of the marks; (4) evidence of actual confusion; (5) the similarity of marketing channels used; (6) the degree of caution exercised by the typical purchaser; (7) the defendant’s intent.

Believe me, there is no way you could ever confusion “The iPhone” with Cisco’s whatever…

So the question is…if you were an odds-maker (there should actually be some odds on this somewhere)..What are the odds in each case?

1. Settlement
2. Cisco Wins Outright, Apple Changes iPhone Name
3. Apple Wins Outright, Cisco goes away quietly
4. Products are distinct. No consumer confusion, Both win (sort of)
5. Growing Backlash against Cisco so severe Cisco loses 1% MarketCap, share prices loses 5%, Cisco’s iPhone inventories pile up ( Will never happen, just thought it would be funny to include () )

And, where can I make my bet?

My money is on Cisco to Win Outright. Apple changes name in U.S. to “i-mReallyTheOnlyPhoneYou’llEverNeedEver”, keeps trademark outside U.S., but changes name anyway.

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