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Apple sued for the use of 'Tiger' name

chibianh

chibianh

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 6, 2001
783
1
Colorado
Anyone seen this?

Apple has been sued by Tiger Direct, Inc. for allegedly infringing its trademark with the Mac OS X 'Tiger', according to Bloomberg. Tiger Direct sells computers and related products on the Internet; it says the Apple's software package, marketing, and use of Tiger in the company's forthcoming operating system, threatens to dilute its trademarked 'Tiger' name. It also accused Apple of deceptive and unfair trade practices in the federal lawsuit filed in a Miami court. "Apple Computer has created and launched a nationwide media blitz led by Steven Jobs, overwhelming the computer world with a sea of Tiger references," according to the lawsuit. Bloomberg says that court injunction, if granted, could halt the rollout of new Mac OS X Tiger operating system, which will be officially released tomorrow. According to the lawsuit, Tiger Direct has used its family of 'Tiger' trademarks to sell computers (and computer-related products) since 1987 and the company has trademarked the names Tiger, TigerDirect and TigerSoftware--which it uses in about 25 million catalogs it sends out each year.
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I think it's ridiculous how they waited until NOW to file the lawsuit.
 
All I have to say is, "Oh SH*T!" :(

There is no way they're going to stop Apple from launching tomorrow, bu this could be a major blow to the whole launch in general. Well, I already have my copy so i'm kool.
 
So... assuming all this is true... what "mistakes" are these that consumers are making and hurting Tiger Direct, exactly? What "deception" is leading people to buy less from Tiger Direct?

Do they honestly think that someone who wants to shop at Tiger Direct is going to do a Google search, find Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger instead, and end up buying that from Apple instead of what they were originally wanting from Tiger Direct???

Of course not. They just see a chance to try for some money from a prominent company.

The timing is purely to extort money from Apple. They know Apple hasplanned a big launch and can't delay it, so Apple has not time to respond no matter WHO is right... and therefore they can get Apple to make a big out-of-court settlement without Tiger Direct actually being in the right!

Now THAT is low. Tiger has been promoted for over a year now.

Steve will probably refuse to pay at all costs, but here's what I think I'd do:

1. Pay what Tiger is asking.

2. Then sue them after the fact for the planned extortion (or whatever the proper term).

I'm all for Apple losing when they're in the wrong--and sometimes they are. But even if the letter of the law somehow makes Apple wrong this time, it's still a disreputable and needless act of Tiger Direct.

I just hope this doesn't keep Tiger out of my hands one hour longer than needed, or Tiger Direct will get my negative word of mouth for a long, long time...
 
Why has Tiger Inc. waited until the day before the launch? Probably just to get attention. I only hope they don't find a senile Judge stopping Apple from launching Tiger.
 
edesignuk said:
With all the suing Apple have been doing to others recently, this makes me chuckle :eek: :D
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You mean, the suing of people who have actually done illegal things? Things that actually damage Apple's business, unlike Tiger Direct? ;)
 
When Tiger starts manufacturing software they will have a case.

No trade dress or trademark infringement here, I'm afraid. ;)
 
This day could not get any more...worse...frustrating...I don't know.

Tiger Direct, please, what are you trying to pull. This is pathetic. You've known Apple was going with the Tiger moniker for almost a year now. Either you are stupid for not knowing until today, or stupid for thinking you could extort Apple for some money.

And I still don't have my Tiger. :mad: It's still preparing...
 
nagromme said:
You mean, the suing of people who have actually done illegal things? Things that actually damage Apple's business, unlike Tiger Direct? ;)
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I happen to not agree with a lot of Apples recent legal "battles", so, this amuses me.
 
Daveway said:
All I have to say is, "Oh SH*T!" :(

There is no way they're going to stop Apple from launching tomorrow, bu this could be a major blow to the whole launch in general. Well, I already have my copy so i'm kool.
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I don't know...I don't think Tiger Direct can win this. There are other cases of same or very similar names that co-exist just fine. What it comes down to is consumer confusion...two similar products named the same thing is obviously a problem, but here we have a computer mail-order company vs. an operating system. You'd have to be really astoundingly dumb to confuse the two, so I'd guess this case isn't going anywhere. Is IS amusing that it's Apple being sued in this case though.

--Eric
 
I'm so f***ing tired of lawyers and their phony, gold-digging lawsuits... :mad:

...if there had been a problem, Apple would have gotten the message when trademarking all the catnames, years ago... :rolleyes:
 
its not like this is going to stop the release of tiger anyways, wouldnt most of the pre-orders have shiped by now anyways? i cant get over companies like this, its crazy
 
How can you trademark the Tiger name? This is gay. If a company chooses to use a public domain name, they should be willing to risk other companies to do the same.
 
Freg3000 said:
This day could not get any more...worse...frustrating...I don't know.

Tiger Direct, please, what are you trying to pull. This is pathetic. You've known Apple was going with the Tiger moniker for almost a year now. Either you are stupid for not knowing until today, or stupid for thinking you could extort Apple for some money.

And I still don't have my Tiger. :mad: It's still preparing...
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Get in line.

I figure we're getting shafted. And I order seconds after the announcement. :rolleyes:
 
iGary said:
Get in line.

I figure we're getting shafted. And I order seconds after the announcement. :rolleyes:
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Most likely. Maybe if they still say "will ship on or before 4/28" past midnight I'll sue them for...lying. :)

I'd probably have a stronger case than TigerDirect though eh?

Keep me updated on your status iGary. Good Luck.
 
This seems a little bogus. I saw a blurb on bloomberg.com site, but there has nothing else in the news about this. Those other mac sites are just reporting on what is on bloomburg. Maybe there will be more tomorrow.
 
This is what happens when idiots have too much time, money and access to lawyers.

After hearing of TigerDirect's lawsuit, others are lining up to sue Apple:

• Chester the Cheetah from Cheetos is suing for 10.0

• Puma athletic clothing company is suing for 10.1

• Jaguar car company is suing for 10.2

• NHL Florida Panthers are suing for 10.3
 
They are probably trying to pull a publicity stunt... this way it gets all over the net, their name is all over tha place, and they hope that they get more business.

Their name is Tiger Direct, not Tiger...
like Apple and Apple Pie.
 
Tiger Direct isn't guaranteed search results, and by this sort of accusation they could sue anyone who has "tiger" in the name: Tiger Woods, Tony the Tiger, etc... this sort of thing is insane.

Searching for "Tiger direct" still yields them as #1 in their own results, meaning they're not being shorted anything at all. This is the stupidest one in a while lol.
 
What Bullcr•p. People don't "own" the word tiger. Tiger is the name of a big cat. How stupid. One day we'll get sued for using all nouns. How ridiculous.
 
So if this was such a big issue why not sue Apple back in 2004 when the patent was issued. Sounds like Tiger Direct wants some free publicity. :rolleyes:
 
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