Man & Machine wins Mighty Mouse trademark
updated 09:55 am EDT, Thu October 8, 2009
Apple may have to change mouse name
Years after having taken both Apple and CBS to court, Man & Machine has announced that it has at last been awarded registration of the "Mighty Mouse" trademark. The small accessory maker previously filed a 14-page complaint, claiming it had developed a desktop waterproof mouse under the same name over a year prior to the debut of Apple's product. The company also accused Apple of intentionally buying up search keywords for the phrase "Mighty Mouse," which further diverted people from finding their Mighty Mouse model or its website.
Apple currently licenses the Mighty Mouse name from CBS, which owns trademarks associated with the cartoon character. Nothing has been said regarding whether Apple will now try and license the phrase from Man & Machine, or if it will simply move on to a new name. A new multi-touch mouse is believed to be in development by Apple, one which will remove the mechanical scrollball and replace it with a surface supporting various control gestures.
fixing a mistake
10/08, 10:34am (1 reply) reply
I think it was a dumb decision for Apple to name their mouse a "Mighty Mouse". It's too bad that they wasted money on licensing and court fees for a useless name. It's just a Mac mouse - nothing "mighty" about it.
c4rlob
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2009
better name
10/08, 10:57am reply
Apple should have called their hockey puck mouse "Suxor Mouse" and the current roller ball mouse "Suxor Mouse II". I can't believe Apple has suck a great engineering/design section but still can't design a mouse worth a c***.
cgc
Mac Elite
Joined: Mar 2003
lame name
10/08, 11:42am reply
Agreed, 'Might Mouse' was a pretty bad name, conjuring images of cartoon superhero rodents from my childhood. New name suggestion: iPoint Pro.
WiseWeasel
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 1999
A mouse that wasn't too mighty
10/08, 11:49am reply
It's time for Apple to retire the moniker and introduce the new mouse. Super Mouse?
Drop it light a...mighty house already.
Paul Huang
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 1999
ok,m but...
10/08, 12:12pm reply
Does this mean that Man & Machine must license the name from CBS now too?? clearly thats the original "Mighty Mouse"
byRyan
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2007
So, a product was
10/08, 12:26pm reply
being developed a year before Apple's product "debuted"?
How long do you suppose Apple's product was being developed before its debut?
Was it a project name, or was it slated from the start of development to have that name?
Flying Meat
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2007
Can no one read?
10/08, 12:52pm reply
being developed a year before Apple's product "debuted"?
It does NOT say being developed, it says developed, as in "already finished". And if you looked it up, you'd see they were selling their mouse a year before Apple started selling theirs.
Does this mean that Man & Machine must license the name from CBS now too?? clearly thats the original "Mighty Mouse"
No, because they were awarded the name for their device, which means they don't need to pay anyone for anything (and now they can sue Apple's a** for using their name, probably). CBS has the trademark for Mighty Mouse the cartoon character, but they do not have rights to the name in all facets of products.
For example, just look at the Woolworth's discussion from earlier in the week. It wasn't that the image looked like Apple's (so Apple claims), but that they were trying to use it for all types of products, including electronics.
Or, there's no reason you couldn't make a garden rake called the "Mac Pro" (to complement your cheaper rake, the "Mac"), as no one of any intelligence is going to confuse your overpriced rake with an overpriced computer system.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
New mouse
10/08, 12:53pm (1 reply) reply
And so how 'different' will be making their new mouse that will cause everyone to have to rework their learned mouse-clicking skills that they had to relearn when they started using the MM from any of 1000 other more usable mice?
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
trademark law
10/12, 07:26pm reply
Trademark registration is granted to the company which first uses the mark in commerce. The US does not have a first to register system. It is a first to use. This registration does not end the fight. The USPTO's decision is not a judicial decision. If Apple feels that it was first to use the mark in commerce, it may choose to file a suit in court. -- by online trademark lawyer -- http://www.web20lawyer.com/page0/page58/trademark-law.html
web20lawyer
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2009