Nada Alamro

Cisco and Apple have ended their brief battle over iPhone and decided to share the trademark name. Both parties have reached an agreement that will allow both companies to use the trademark globally. The detailed terms of the agreement seem to be strictly confidential. However, both agreed to “acknowledge the trademark ownership rights that have been granted, and each side will dismiss any pending actions regarding the trademark. In addition, Cisco and Apple will explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security, and consumer and enterprise communications.” (Cisco.com)

Analysts believe that this agreement will definitely benefit both parties. Even though Apple does not want to partner with any outside company, it partnering with Cisco will only improve its future product gears.

Sources:

http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/corp_022107b.html?sid=BAC-RelatedNews

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/biztech/02/23/cisco.apple.ap/index.html?eref=rss_tech\

Posted by Nada Alamro at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Steve Jobs of Apple may be in hot water as the investigation to whether the timing of the option grant was improperly backdated. While Jobs was at Pixar, he negotiated an employment contract with John Lasseter of Disney which included a large stock-options grant of 1 million shares.
The agreement was signed on March 21, 2001. However, the stock-option grant that was given was for the December 5, 2000 price, which was more than three months before the signing of the contract. According to the SEC rule at the time, options grant must be reported no later than 45 days after the end of Pixar’s fiscal-year.
On December 5, 2000 the stock price was at its lowest for that year. Before the signing of the contract, Pixar’s shares increased up to 24% making it a great profit for Lasseter.

Sources:
Stecklow, S (2007). Pixar pay package to Lasseter included well-timed options: Pact Jobs helped arrange had grant date 3 months before deal was signed. The Wall Street Journal, CCXLIX (3), A3.
Allison, K. (2007, February 10). Jobs' Pixar pay package 'well timed'. Retrieved February 13, 2007 from MSNBC, MSN, The Financial Times Ltd Web site: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17076027/

Posted by Nada Alamro at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apple Inc. announced its new iPhone product on Tuesday, January 9, 2007. However, following the announcement, Cisco Systems issued a law suite against Apple Inc. for trademark infringement. Both offer iPhone products that differ in its technology. The Apple iPhone is a cell phone with iPod features, while the Cisco iPhone is a phone that can be used over the internet.
Both companies tried to reach an agreement before announcing the Apple iPhone product. Cisco wanted for their products to interoperate with Apple’s products meaning that both companies will have to work together. This does not work for Apple since it keeps a tight control over its product development, and therefore declined this exchange with Cisco.
Cisco owned the trademark name since 2000 when it bought InfoGear Technology Corp. InfoGear offered iPhone products that enable web access. Cisco also added new iPhone wireless products to its Linksys unit in 2006.

Sources:
Clark, D (2007). At heart of cisco's iPhone lawsuite: A desire for open standards. The Wall Street Journal, CCXLIX (10), A9.
CNN (2007, January 10). Cisco to apple inc: iPhone is ours. Retrieved January 22, 2007 from, Web site:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/01/10/cisco.iphone.reut/index.html

Posted by Nada Alamro at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)