We can finally cross one name off the list of companies either threatening Apple or actually engaged in legal action with Apple after a settlement was reached with Cisco today. The companies have–somewhat surprisingly–agreed to share the iPhone name instead of figuring out sole ownership.

Some expected Cisco to essentially hold Apple hostage for whatever payout they could get, capitalizing on Apple’s premature announcement of the product name. There’s no word of any sort of payment to Cisco for this agreement, though, but the rumor of Cisco demanding interoperability between their iPhone and Apple’s appears to be true. What sort of interoperability we can expect from such different products is unclear at this point. We wouldn’t be surprised if it was something quite nominal. The upside for Cisco is that the iPhone is sure to become a valuable brand under Apple’s guidance, allowing Cisco to get a bit of an iPhone halo effect. Being able to tout even some limited form of interoperability between their product and Apple’s will similarly allow them to leverage the potential strength of the brand in the future.

Interestingly, Apple could face another similar battle in Canada, where Comwave Telecom has used the iPhone name since 2004 for a web-based phone service. Comwave Telecom has already taken steps to stop Apple. It’s unclear what Comwave Telecom is looking for from Apple in exchange for permission to use the name.

LG’s complaints about Apple knocking off the Prada phone, and Quantum Research’s threats are other potential dangers to Apple and the iPhone, but at least we know for sure that we have a name for the damn thing.

Filed under: iPhone News