Cisco sues Apple over iPhone name

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Cisco Systems is suing Apple Inc. in federal court for trademark infringement over the naming of Apple's new 'iPhone' iPod-phone, Cisco announced in a press release Wednesday.

Cisco has held the trademark on 'iPhone' since 2000. The company is seeking an injunction preventing Apple from using the 'iPhone' name.

Apple Chairman Steve Jobs announced the product on Tuesday at Macworld, saying, "We are calling it iPhone." Jobs also repeatedly referred to the phone by the name during the presentation at San Francisco's Moscone Center.

After Jobs' announcement, Cisco said the two companies had been in negotiations for weeks over use of the name.

Cisco spokeswoman Penny Bruce told CNN Tuesday, after Jobs' announcement, Cisco felt that "Apple intended to agree to the final documents and public statement that were distributed to them" on Monday.

By launching the iPod-phone with that name, Cisco assumed Apple "was going to agree to our terms," Cisco spokesman John Noh told CNN Wednesday.

Noh said Apple did not contact Cisco on Tuesday or Wednesday regarding the trademark agreement submitted.

Apple did not immediately return calls to CNN for comment.

"Cisco entered into negotiations with Apple in good faith after Apple repeatedly asked permission to use Cisco's iPhone name," Mark Chandler, Cisco's senior vice president and general counsel, said in a written statement. "There is no doubt that Apple's new phone is very exciting, but they should not be using our trademark without our permission."

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

At the annual technology convention Tuesday, Jobs said that the new Apple product was a "revolutionary mobile phone" that will feature an iPod, phone and "Internet communicator."

The phone is rectangular, with the entire front surface a touch screen, and is run entirely by touch. It runs the Mac OS X, scaled down to a cell phone.

Apple (Charts) shares fell nearly 1 percent in after-hours trade. Cisco (Charts) closed Wednesday at $28.68 on Nasdaq. Shares of Apple closed at $97.00 on Nasdaq.

---By CNN's Katy Byron in New York

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