The iPhone brand is still firmly was in the hands of Cisco. Cisco released in December 2006 quickly a VoIP phone called iPhone, for the world to make clear that they trade activel. Still, Steve Jobs announced less than a month later, the proud iPhone. How could the two companies agreement happened to be so fast? It can read in the "Inside Apple" book by Adam Lashinsky.
Giancarlo received a telephone call directly from high flying Steve Jobs, which Lashinsky covers in Inside Apple:
Giancarlo fielded a call directly from Steve Jobs. “Steve called in and said that he wanted it,” Giancarlo recalled. “He didn’t offer us anything for it. It was just like a promise he’d be our best friend. And we said, ‘No, we’re planning on using it.’ ” Shortly after that, Apple’s legal department called to say they thought Cisco had “abandoned the brand,” meaning that in Apple’s legal opinion Cisco hadn’t adequately defended its intellectual property rights by promoting the name. To Apple’s way of thinking this meant the name iPhone was available for Apple’s use. Giancarlo, who subsequently joined the prominent Silicon Valley private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners, said Cisco threatened litigation before the launch. Then, the day after Apple announced its iPhone, Cisco filed suit.
The negotiation displayed some classic Steve Jobs negotiating tactics. Giancarlo said Jobs called him at home at dinnertime on Valentine’s Day, as the two sides were haggling. Jobs talked for a while, Giancarlo related. “And then he said to me, ‘Can you get email at home?’ “ Giancarlo was taken aback. This was 2007, after all, when broadband Internet was ubiquitous in homes in the US, let alone that of a Silicon Valley executive who had worked for years on advanced Internet technology. “And he’s asking me if I’m able to get email at home. You know he’s just trying to press my buttons—in the nicest possible way.” Cisco gave up the fight shortly after that. The two sides reached a vague agreement to cooperate on areas of mutual interest.
Recently, there are more interesting facts from this book , so if you plan to read the book yourself, then you stop reading now. Cisco CEO Charles Giancarlo says in the book that he was a direct call from Steve Jobs was:
Steve called and said he wanted it. He offered us nothing. It was as if a promise was a good friend. And we said, 'No, we intend to use it. " Shortly after Apple's legal department phoned to say that Cisco brand disused.
Apple found that Cisco had not properly defended the rights to the iPhone name and did makenot enough effort to promote it. Thus, the brand is now released, ready for use by Apple. Cisco threatened to take legal action, but Apple went on with the announcement of the iPhone. A day after the launch, Cisco launched a lawsuit.
The folling week, Steve Jobs showed that he was a smart negotiator, called Giancarlo to have, around dinner time on Valentine's Day and asked if the e-mail was received (a veiled insult, because Cisco is one of the largest Internet service providers in the world). Cisco gave up shortly after the battle and the two companies came to an agreement, whose details are still not clear. It is remarkable that an operating system called Cisco iOS (Internet Operating System) had, before Apple decided to make the iPhone Software also called iOS. In this case, Apple was the first trademark that owned the trademarks.
Do you want the book "Inside Apple itself read?
E-book in English: Inside Apple ($12.99) in the iBookstore
English Hardcover: Inside Apple ($16.19) at Amazon
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