Apple and Cisco Systems announced that they have agreed to extend the time for Apple to respond to Cisco's lawsuit regarding the iPhone moniker.

Apple grabbed headlines and hype with its January 9 announcement of its entry into the mobile phone business with a handset it dubbed the iPhone. Days later, Cisco filed suit against Apple in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking to prevent Apple from "infringing upon and deliberately copying and using" Cisco's already-registered iPhone trademark, the company said at the time of the filing.

Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been shipping a new family of iPhone products since early last year. In December, Linksys expanded the iPhone family with additional products.

Now, however, it seems the companies are willing to try to reach a relatively amicable settlement. In Wednesday's statement, Apple and Cisco said the extra response time is to allow for discussions between the companies with the aim of "reaching agreement on trademark rights and interoperability."