Some financial analysts and legal experts believe Cisco’s lawsuit over the iPhone trademark won’t stop Apple from using the name, noting that the case will likely be settled long before the June ship date. At least one analyst, however, believes Apple will change the device’s name to “Apple Phone.”
“We expect an amicable resolution,” Prudential Securities analyst Inder Singh said. “The most likely outcome, in our opinion, is for Cisco to be a net recipient of financial payment from Apple for use of the name.” Apple “has until May to sort this out and then ramp up marketing, so there is time,” said Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray.
Citing sources close to the iPhone situation, Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research said he expects Apple to change the name of the iPhone to “Apple Phone” in time for the product’s release in June. Of note, Apple this week renamed its previously codenamed iTV living room device the “Apple TV.”
