Adam Lashinsky's Inside Apple book is out in stores now and it tells some pretty interesting story. An excerpt from that book reveals Apple never really owned the names iPhone and iOS when it first launched them back in 2007. At that time, they were the property of Cisco.
Cisco Systems, Inc. is based in San Jose California and is a multinational corporation. Cisco specializes in designing and selling communications technologies which include networking and voice technologies. Consumer electronics are also developed by this company.
iPhone and iOS were announced for the very first time in 2007, regardless of the fact that it was dubbed iPhone OS back then. A very enthusiastic Steve Jobs took the stage and revealed how his company had reinvented the mobile phone. To avoid any legal troubles, before publicly launching any product a company tries its best not to infringe any patents or trademarks. Most people didn't think about this twice in Apple's case because at that time the company already had popular products in the market such as iMac and the iPod. It felt absolutely right. However Adam Lashinsky reveals in his book that these two names were actually owned by Cisco, who filed a law suit against Apple the day they revealed this iconic product. Cisco claimed that they were going to use the term iPhone sooner or later, and they had already used IOS which was the abbreviation for Internet Operating System.
Detailed excerpt from Inside Apple:
Charles Giancarlo, a Cisco Executive, 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.
This isn't some shocking news that will spoil the reputation of Apple. It is rather one of those interesting facts behind the creation of the world's most adored smartphone and the software that runs it, collectively called iPhone and iOS. We've said it before and we'll say it again, Adam Lashinsky's Inside Apple is a joy to read.
(via cultofmac)