Few people know that both the iPhone and iOS names were obtained by Jobs from Cisco. The operating system of iPhone-originally called iPhone OS.
Although Apple first conceived product names beginning with I, such as iMac and iPod, the two names of iPhone and iOS were first registered by Cisco, a giant computer operator.
Adam Lashinsky, author of Inside Apple, said that Jobs specifically contacted Charles Giancarlo, a former Cisco executive, about these two names. The two companies have never set foot in the same market. Apple aims at individual users, while Cisco aims at enterprise users. Therefore, Apple doesn't know why Cisco has the iPhone trademark.
The following is an excerpt from Lashinsky's book:
Giancarlo received a direct phone call from Steve Jobs, saying that he wanted it. Giancarlo recalled that he didn't give us anything for it. It's like a promise that he will be our good friend. Then we said, no, we're going to use it. Shortly after that, Apple's legal department called and said that they thought Cisco had given up the brand, which meant that Apple's legal point of view was that Cisco had not effectively defended its intellectual property rights by promoting the name. Giancarlo said that Cisco threatened to sue before the release. Then, a day after Apple announced the iPhone, Cisco filed a lawsuit against it.
This negotiation shows some negotiation strategies of Steve Jobs. Giancarlo, said that Jobs called him at dinner time on Valentine's Day, and the two sides bargained. Jobs talked for a while and asked, and Giancarlo responded. Then he said to me,; Can you receive email at home? Giancarlo was surprised. That was in 27. After all, at that time, the Internet was ubiquitous in American families, not to mention Silicon Valley executives who had worked in the advanced Internet industry for several years. He asked me if I could get an email at home. You know he just wants my permission-in the best way possible. Cisco soon dropped the lawsuit. The two sides reached an agreement and reached cooperation in areas that are beneficial to both sides.
Cisco mentioned earlier that the name of its core device operating system is IOS (International Operating System). Later, Apple and Jobs decided to name the iPhone's operating system iOS, which was in 21.