Mighty Mouse, Shmighty Mouse. Just give me a new Apple Mouse with one button and a non-glitchy scroller and that glides easily with or without a mat.
Choosing a stupid name for your product is one thing, unoriginal is another. Especially if you claim to be a creative company that "Thinks Different".
Mighty Mouse is a trademark of Viacom Consumer Products Inc., used under license.
Not anymore as far as Apple is concerned. Their rights to use that name for the purposes of computer hardware now fall under M&M. Viacom still ownes the trademarks to the character, but Apple doesn't license the image, just the name.Mighty Mouse is a trademark of Viacom Consumer Products Inc., used under license.
Mighty Mouse is a trademark of Viacom Consumer Products Inc., used under license.
You mean the types of cats that Apple names their operating systems after? Of course we should also mention that most cats have tails as well!
But what about the Cisco vs Apple deal when Apple was thinking of a name for its phone? Cisco owns the trademark. Apple knows this, but goes on to use another company's name idea anyway.
Not anymore as far as Apple is concerned. Their rights to use that name for the purposes of computer hardware now fall under M&M. Viacom still ownes the trademarks to the character, but Apple doesn't license the image, just the name.
Apple has never used the "iPhone" name for a product without permission of the trademark owner. Proof: There is no lawsuit.
We can be sure that some money changed hands. How much depends on the negotiating skills, whether Cisco's trademark was legitimate (they presented a box with the "iPhone" name on it as evidence of a product, but the "iPhone" name was clearly just a sticker, so there may not have been an actual product when they claimed there was one), and the fact that if there was no deal before the product release and Apple picked a different name, the "iPhone" name would have no value for Cisco at all.
Something similar will happen here: Depending how keen Man&Machine and Apple are on the name, either Apple will buy the rights to use the name or switch to a different name. The idea that Apple would just continue to use the name and hope that a lawsuit will take years and end with the bankruptcy of the other side is plain idiotic.
The PTO has an on-line database where you can check for registered trademarks. Anyone can use it.
I agree that Apple didn't do their homework but now it's all about ego-crazed Lawyers and Consultants.![]()
apple doesnt care about this or that company. If they want to continue using the name, they will. Who's to stop them. Litigation over the suit would last for years and most likely put that little company out of business.
Look at iPhone. Apple went out and introduced the new product as iPhone without even owning the name. (cisco still owns it...but apple can use it after the nice little payment made to cisco).