Cisco extends deadline for iPhone agreement, again

San Jose (CA) - Cisco has told Apple that it has another week to reach an agreement before legal proceedings begin, after its previous deadline expired yesterday. Cisco continues its stance that it wants its iPhone to be able to communicate with the upcoming Apple product.

Apple’s iPhone in detail (16 pictures) ...

Cisco said it is giving Apple until next Wednesday to reach an out-of-court settlement. Neither side is budging from its original position. Apple says the lawsuit is frivolous and questions whether or not it would actually violate Cisco’s trademark rights to give the same name to its device.

The lawsuit was filed last month in a San Francisco federal court, and it calls for Apple to cease and desist in using the iPhone name, a trademark it acquired in 2000 for a Voice-over IP (VoIP) phone.

The two companies had previous discussions about the name, before Apple unveiled it at the Macworld Expo earlier last month. They did not reach a settlement, but Apple still used the name in the debut of the concept. Cisco then filed suit, citing trademark infringement. This is the third time Cisco has extended the deadline to reach an agreement about the trademark rights.