Less than a week after introducing its iPhone to the world, Apple Inc. is being sued by Cisco for using the name ‘iPhone’. Infogear, which was acquired by Cisco in 2000, had originally filed for trademark registration for the brand ‘iPhone’ on March 20, 1996 [source].

The iPhone is scheduled to go on sale in June. However, if the lawsuit is successful, Apple will not be able to sell the phone unless some sort of agreement is reached between itself and Cisco.

The lawsuit has drawn mixed responses, though. Some people opine that it may not be “strategic or even productive” for Cisco - the most richly valued company in Silicon Valley [source].

“Bottom line is that you’d think Cisco had a better use of its time and money than suing Apple over a word”

More updates on the iPhone lawsuit on Google News.