• Information Week, Friday, January 12, 2007 11:31 AM

Despite tough talk yesterday, lawyers say Apple has almost no case in its defense against Cisco Systems' trademark suit over the name "iPhone." Instead, the iPod maker will most likely be forced to settle out of court--something it's gotten used to in lawsuits recently. In going to court, Apple would have to shell out a lot of money for what's a decidedly weaker position, says intellectual property attorney Greg Gabriel.

For one thing, he says Cisco has owned the name for 10 years and has an existing product on the market using the name. For another, Apple was trying to work out a deal--essentially conceding that it didn't own the name--before Steve Jobs decided to go ahead and unveil the new cell phone. "Cisco has a slam dunk here," Gabriel said. "I'm 99% certain that this is going to end up a deal."

In spite of the lawsuit, Cisco executives say their upset that Apple decided to move forward before the negotiations were concluded.

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