At last, the news we have been waiting so long to hear ...
Apple and The Beatles have settled their trademark dispute, for the third time. As you may recall, Apple's expansion of its business into music quasi-publishing prompted the Fab Four's business managers to file suit for breach of the last trademark agreement between the two companies, a lawsuit that Apple eventually won at trial. Although Apple now has clear permission to use its name and logo, even in connection with iTunes (Apple's expansion into music quasi-publishing prompted the band's most recent lawsuit), it is not yet known whether The Beatles will finally consent to place their recordings on iTunes for downloading. Steve Jobs' rollout of the iPhone last month included lots of Beatles references; as with the very name "iPhone," and as with the use of the name "Macintosh" before it, Jobs has promised something that his lawyers will have to buy for him after the fact. Ah, well, you know, he's a visionary. One mustn't let the vagaries of intellectual property ownership law confound his muse.
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Yes and no. There is a follow up to the article you cite that correctly points out that "continuous use" is not a requirement of trademark registration. However, as both articles reveal, Cisco's "use" of the mark is highly suspect, in that it appears to be a slapped together effort to give the impression that the mark was used in commerce prior to the trademark registration by Apple (or, more accurately, by its alter ego).
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