Apple sued for the use of 'Tiger' name

[Mac]

Actually, after looking at their complaint, they do claim that the own a registration for the mark TIGER. When I looked at the registration, it is owned by Systemax, Inc., which is a corporation that happens to have the same address as Tiger Direct, Inc. I assume they're related companies.

Issmit02 do you work in law? Where do you get your info? I am on the other side of the globe, and am really impressed by the speed you dig it up. Is there a way that non-US people can look at the USPTO?

Keep up with factual info here. Great.

 

[tigerbeat]

copywright business

Tigerdirect is also currently making a huge push to stop any websites selling computer products, cameras, cellphones that use anything CLOSE to "tiger"

 

[nagromme]

Cause I got a source...

True, Apple has the trademark from 2004, but Tigerdirect fought them back then, and forced a couple of specific exceptions. They are now suing over the fact that Apple has breached those original agreements.

Tigerdirect is not looking for a cash settlement, and they are not going to delay the release of Tiger. All they are looking for is Apple to change further packaging, and the branding on the Apple Store website. The original agreement stated - the word "tiger" when used only in reference to OSX 10.4 Tiger, should never be larger than 1/3 the font size of the "X" in OSX.

There will be a ruling on tuesday from the judge's bench.

Check out systemax's web site for the documents... (systemax is tigerdirect's parent company)

I hope Apple wins anyway...

If those things are correct, I like the sound of it

Tiger Direct comes off less evil. (Though still on the frivolous side if we're talking font sizes on PACKAGING--how would that make people confused about an online store?) And most importantly for me waiting for Tiger... you say they won't delay the release.

I hope you're right Sounds reasonable and believable to me. So thanks for posting if so!

But... how does this relate to the search engine thing?

 

[aprilfools]

Hunh???????

Give me a break! Lets send those "Tiger Direct" babies a pacifier! Whine whine whine.......

 

[Zigster]

I filed a suit against Tiger Woods this morning - I usually snuggle up next to a stuffed Tiger at night, and he's obviously hampering my ability to compete in the marketplace.

 

[jimmyjjames]

I can't find the trademark owned by Tigerdirect on Tiger...hmmmm does it exist?

Anyone done a check of the actual trademark on Tiger. From what I can tell is the trademark on Tiger has jumped from one hand to another over the years, being abandoned on several occasion. I could not find the word Tiger trademarked by Tigerdirect. However I did find it and Mac OS X Tiger trademarked by Apple.

I just think these guys are looking for some attention. Perhaps the PC business is going well for them?

If you would like to search for it yourself try it. Although they are currently doing maintenance, but go check it out when they are done.
uspto.gov

 

[marmotte]

And what about Tiger Woods?

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.
.

I completely agree. This is nothing more than extortion to get the coverage and piggy-back on the good press Apple is getting.

In addition where are environmental associations such as the WWWF for example? The top results in Google and other search engines should only be about the species and not some stupid trademarks. (which it is, by the way: top results on Google are for the animal).

And what about Tiger Woods? Shouldn't he be upset?

That's the risk you take when you choose a common name for your company or business. Those names just cannot be and should not be reserved to a few.

MM

 

[astrochess]

This reminds me a bit of McIntosh Labs vs. Apple, back in the 1980s (I wasn't there, though; I'm not that old!). Apple came up with the name "Macintosh" for their new computers by taking a dev team member's favorite fruit and intentionally misspelling it. They hoped to avoid conflict with McIntosh Labs this way.

However, McIntosh Labs sued. Eventually, Apple bought the rights to the name outright.

I think that Tiger Direct is trying to recreate this scenario.

 

[EANx]

"The retailer said Apple's use of the name 'is causing confusion, mistake and deception among the general purchasing public.'"

HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA

 

[FattyMembrane]

i've been extremely pleased with every purchase i've made from tiger direct, but this asinine stunt just lost them a customer. if they're looking to drum up business, this isn't the way to do it.

 

[lssmit02]

Issmit02 do you work in law? Where do you get your info? I am on the other side of the globe, and am really impressed by the speed you dig it up. Is there a way that non-US people can look at the USPTO?

Keep up with factual info here. Great.

The info is right from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If you're interested, here's a link to the filed documents in the opposition case:

Tiger Direct v. Apple at the PTO

Yes, I teach intellectual property law, particularly trademark law. Apple's biggest risk is that they are found guilty of "reverse confusion," which happens when a junior user overwhelms the market for the senior user's mark. Damage awards can be quite large when that happens, because, the argument goes, the senior user can't market their products under their mark anymore because everyone thinks they're the infringer.

 

[tigerbeat]

laughing

Systemax and Tigerdirect are currnetly laughing about the uproar Mac followers have created. They are joking "ooohhh - they are threatening to hack us and fill our mailboxes...". Like they're not scared...

This is a huge publicity move. They couldn't stop Apple, so this is the next best thing. Make money off the press...

 

[nagromme]

the word "tiger" when used only in reference to OSX 10.4 Tiger, should never be larger than 1/3 the font size of the "X" in OSX.

Hmmm... maybe some confusion over exactly WHICH "X" we are talking about?

They couldn't stop Apple, so this is the next best thing. Make money off the press...

I really don't see the publicity being worth enough to pay for the lawyers (and maybe even some lost sales). Especially if it tarnishes their own reputation in the process.

 

[sd_diver]

Reminds me of Monster

Monster cable has been bullying a number of companies, from small mom & pop operations, youth sports, up to Monster.com & Disney/Pixar (Monsters Inc) over its name. When I first heard of this four or so month ago, they already had over 100 pending lawsuits. How absurd!

What is our legal system coming to?

SD Diver

 

[Mac]

The info is right from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If you're interested, here's a link to the filed documents in the opposition case:
Tiger Direct v. Apple at the PTO

Thank you for the link.

Great background you have for this topic we are discussing. Keep the students on this forum educated!

 

[Mac]

Apple's biggest risk is that they are found guilty of "reverse confusion," which happens when a junior user overwhelms the market for the senior user's mark. Damage awards can be quite large when that happens, because, the argument goes, the senior user can't market their products under their mark anymore because everyone thinks they're the infringer.

So will search engines results be considered an "overwhelming of the market" in this case? What is your opinion?

For me and my understanding of the law, the evidence for the entrant in this case (Apple) into the encumbents market place (Tiger Direct) is lacking? Am I wrong?

 

[lssmit02]

This is a huge publicity move. They couldn't stop Apple, so this is the next best thing. Make money off the press...

I'm not so sure. Tiger Direct's claim passes the straight face test - They do prominently use the term "tiger" in their trademarks, and they sell computer hardware, which apple does, too. Don't forget, Apple is marketing their hardware now as "comes with Tiger"

 

[lssmit02]

So will search engines results be considered an "overwhelming of the market" in this case? What is your opinion?

For me and my understanding of the law, the evidence for the entrant in this case (Apple) into the encumbents market place (Tiger Direct) is lacking? Am I wrong?

Well, as someone has already pointed out, it seems that Tiger Direct is only asking for Apple to tone down their use of "Tiger," not eliminate it completely. This presumably suggests that they are not totally wiped out by Apple's use of the mark, even from their point of view. This also suggests that they don't think it's a slam dunk case. For example, while I had heard of Tiger Direct, and had shopped a couple of times on their site back when I used to use Windows, tigerdirect.com never even came to mind when thinking of 10.4 Tiger. This is probably true because all of us Mac users think of it as Mac OS X Tiger, although we short hand refer to it as Tiger. Now, for Windows users, there may more of a chance for confusion, because they may not think of Apple initially when they see the term "tiger" when used for computer software.

You need a good consumer survey to shed some light on this.

 

[TMay]

and all this time...

...I though Apple was naming their OSX variants after German Armored Vehicles.

I guess that is way better than naming your OS after a variety of cheddar cheese.

 

[nagromme]

AI now says: "Tiger Direct claims a preliminary injunction hearing is slated for Tuesday, May 3, several days after Tiger is scheduled to go onsale."

Added to their earlier, rather alarming:

"If the court grants Tiger Direct's request for an injunction, Apple's rollout of Tiger could be stopped."

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1039

I assume that hearing date is good news for my copy

I wonder what REAL story will eventually emerge from all this? I just read Tiger's press release and it's hard to give them much benefit of the doubt.

 

[lssmit02]

intial interest confusion

In the same vein, there is a doctrine in trademark law refered to as "initial interest confusion." This occurs when consumers are not confused when they ultimately go to purchase a product, but the infringer has benefitted from getting their attention initially. That is, any confusion about the source of the goods is dispelled by the time the consumer buys the product. Nevertheless, the mark owner loses the sale, because the infringer got to talk to the customer first. Search engine results are often argued to pose such a problem, because by the time you figure out you're at the wrong site, you're not going to search for the site you really wanted. Sale lost.

This, of course, is a pretty weak argument, given how easy it is to search again when you've found that you went to the wrong site. Plus, with tigerdirect.com, the customer is probably someone looking for a bargain piece of hardware to build/upgrade a Windows machine. They're not going all of a sudden buy a Mac (Apple's marketing notwithstanding ), just because they went to the Apple site by mistake.

Nevertheless, the argument is often made in trademark infringement cases dealing with domain names.

 

[dotdotdot]

Cause I got a source...

True, Apple has the trademark from 2004, but Tigerdirect fought them back then, and forced a couple of specific exceptions. They are now suing over the fact that Apple has breached those original agreements.

Tigerdirect is not looking for a cash settlement, and they are not going to delay the release of Tiger. All they are looking for is Apple to change further packaging, and the branding on the Apple Store website. The original agreement stated - the word "tiger" when used only in reference to OSX 10.4 Tiger, should never be larger than 1/3 the font size of the "X" in OSX.

There will be a ruling on tuesday from the judge's bench.

Check out systemax's web site for the documents... (systemax is tigerdirect's parent company)

I hope Apple wins anyway...

TigerDirect should sue YOU, tigerbeat...

 

[sord]

I preordered my copy from Apple on the 12th and it STILL HASNT SHIPPED (says preparing shipment). If this stops my copy from being shipped someones going to die over at Tiger Direct

 

[lssmit02]

But... how does this relate to the search engine thing?

Great point. Tiger Direct is spinning things, too. If Apple weren't such a huge name in this business, I bet they would have been screaming bloody murder about this, doing their best to shut down the distribution of Tiger. How they change the packaging for OS X has no impact on the search engine results.

Also, how much control does Apple have over the search engines, anyway? Without changing the name, Apple's site is going to be a top result regardless of how prominent Tiger is on the packaging. Isn't OS X Tiger the top selling piece of software right now on Amazon? I assume that most people searching for Tiger on Google are looking for OS X.

One final though, if you're looking for Tiger Direct's site (and you're not smart enough to type in the url "www.tigerdirect.com" into your browser ), aren't you going to search for "tiger direct" or "tigerdirect" so you don't get websites about tigers?

 

[chubad]

Maybe Apple should change the name to Tigger. After all, a Tigger's a wonderful thing.

Yea. Their tops are made out of rubber, their bottoms are made out of springs.


Why would a company be so stupid to alienate an entire group of affluent customers for a frivolous lawsuit?

I'll never spend a dime at tigerdirect.