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(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Apple and Cisco agreed to extend the time Apple has to respond to Cisco's lawsuit surrounding the iPhone, in order to discuss trademark rights and interoperability, the companies said.

Cisco, which makes routers and switches to link networks and power the Internet, sued Apple over alleged trademark infringement for calling its new cell phone-iPod device iPhone.

During a conference call with analysts earlier this month, Apple COO Tim Cook called the Cisco lawsuit 'silly,' and said Cisco's trademark registration was 'tenuous at best.'

'If Cisco wants to challenge us,' Cook said, 'we're confident we'll prevail.'

Cisco claims Apple's new device is 'deceptively and confusingly similar' to its own line of cordless Web-enabled phones from the company's Linksys division.
Apple says it's entitled to use the name iPhone because its device operates over a cellular network, unlike Cisco's phones.

© 2007 The Associated Press

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