The latest news from the Cisco/Apple trademark dispute over the rights to use the iPhone name indicates that the companies have extended the time that Apple has to respond to Cisco’s lawsuit, allowing the pair to further discuss trademark rights and interoperability.

Cisco released a WiFi VoIP product called the iPhone through its Linksys brand in December, preceding the Apple iPhone launch by a month, with Cisco holding the iPhone trademark since 2000. Cisco filed its suit just days after the Apple iPhone announcement, as the companies were unable to come to an agreement prior to Steve Jobs announcing the Apple iPhone at Macworld this year.

Apple claims that it has the right to use the iPhone name since the devices are sufficiently dissimilar, with Apple’s iPhone operating over a cellular network and Cisco’s iPhone using WiFi and VoIP.

via MobileBurn