Cisco is suing Apple, the company announced a few minutes ago, seeking an injunction against the use of the money title: "iPhone."

I was surfing around in my thrill over the new Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) "revolutionary" mobile phone yesterday, when I came across a post ruminating about the meaning behind a terse announcement from Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO). Paul Kedrosky was wondering whether it meant, basically, "Apple's caved on our demands," or, "Apple told us to screw off; expect to hear from our lawyers!"

I thought to myself, "sounds like a screw-off to me!" but then again, I'm one to read the worst between-the-lines. It's way more fun.

Turns out, the fun is truth and Apple will be defending itself if it wants to keep the little "i" in front of its phone. It's interesting to note that the company just dropped the "i" in front of "TV" yesterday (and not, as far as I know, because of any competitive or legal threat). Kedrosky called the suit "magnificently silly stuff" on the news.

It's magnificent, all right. But silly? A trademark is a trademark, am I right? Or does Apple, just by virtue of its ubiquity, deserve rights to little "i"s no matter where they appear?