Server appliance maker Cobalt Networks won’t be suing Apple any time soon over use of the Cube trademark, according to a recent ZDNet UK article penned by Matt Loney.
The company, which was acquired last year by Sun Microsystems, was the center of attention last July when then-CEO Stephen DeWitt trumpeted “We will not sit idly by. [Apple] is trying to exert their marketing pressure and will pay for it.”
Although the Cobalt Qube looks very different from Apple’s Power Mac G4 Cube, it sports almost the exact same dimensions — 7 x 7 x 8 inches — but it’s been out since 1998, whereas the Cube debuted last year. Cobalt has rights to the Cube trademark.
Cobalt held a developer conference in Paris, France last week, and DeWitt, who’s now vice president and server appliances GM at Sun, is considerably less strident in his tone.
“There never was a lawsuit, and there never will be a lawsuit,” said DeWitt, according to ZDNet.
NeXT also made a “cube computer.” Next is, of course, the company Steve Jobs founded when he left Apple — Apple purchased NeXT, which is what brought Steve back to Apple.