Apple and CBS sued over Mighty Mouse name, lawyers come to save the day
By Joshua Fruhlinger 
posted May 21st 2008 1:22PM
posted May 21st 2008 1:22PM
[Via The Inquirer]
posted May 21st 2008 1:22PM
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maybe they should thank apple instead of sueing them, as apple brought the mouse to market and created an area in which they could make a business?
I'd take a logitech mx518 any day of the week
apple brought the mouse to market, really? Wow, so that 5 button device I was using with architecture programs years before the mac (or even the lisa) were introduced weren't on the market.
You apple folks make that 1984 ad more ironic every day - now rewriting history to give apple credit for things they clearly didn't do. Also appreciate the clever word play - "brought to market" as opposed to "invented", at least no longer claiming credit for xerox's work.
Except if you read that little bit about THEM BEING FIRST TO MARKET
Do apple create markets for Man & Machine in labs and hospitals , oh no wait thats THEIR market.
Gotta love fan-bois can't even read the article before their TPM chip kicks and Steve pushes the one button on his tiny Apple remote *ATTACK*
Low ranked?
Apple DID bring the mouse to the market and to the gui, as well as most home computer technologies used today.
Silly fanboys.
It was indeed Apple who was first to market the mouse and the GUI to the general public and/or home user in retail stores. Apple is also responsible for bringing some of the WORST mice to the market including the Mighty Mouse.
Theoretically CBS can counter-sue them for using the name Mighty Mouse without there permission. CBS owns the rights to the name, and Apple owns the rights to the computer product, so apple did what what appropriate and bought the name legitimately, while Man and Machine assumed it was open market. They could be faces serious charges for using the name in fact, if they continue to provoke CBS and Apple. I don't know about you, but with all the lawsuits Apples be dealing with, I'm sure there lawyer have enough experience to deal with a little hospital parts company.
Maybe they should just shut their mouths, if CBS own the rights to the name then surely CBS could sue Man & Machine no matter what context its in?
I'm so glad a copyright / trademark lawyer is chiming in to set us straight.~
I agree. IF Apple got permission from CBS to use the name, it seems that Man & Machine didn't go through the proper process to use the name. Seems to me they were using it illegally in the first place. I'm just an engineer though, not a lawyer :-p.
Didn't like the cartoon. Didn't like the mouse.
Is it possible to hope they both lose?
I have an idea for a great new, all-beef sausage. I plan on calling it the Under Dog. I should be OK, right?
no...wait...the Under Armor Dog...that way you run afoul of three or four different companies at once.
Name Troll much?
How are they a troll is they were using the name first to sell computer mice? Under the trademark laws, that makes them the rightful owner to computer mice sold under the "Mighty Mouse" trademark. Unless CBS sold computer mice with the "Mighty Mouse" mark before Man & Machine, Apple is going to have to pay.
make a black mouse with two oversized round buttons and call it the Mickey Mouse?
Wait.. you mean Apple stole someone's product name without paying them for it? Unheard of! Apple wouldn't do that.. again.. not after stealing the iPhone name... or stealing that advertising idea for the AppleTV... this is unheard of!
Apple didn't steal anything... they licensed the name from CBS. Legally.
If anything it sounds like CBS's problem that they licensed to both companies. But I would like to assume that since they own the name, they can do whatever the hell they want with it... including licensing it to whomever they feel like.
chrisaroz - Apple licensed the Mighty Mouse name from CBS, Apple has a legal agreement with Cisco about the iPhone name. Try not to be such an idiot.
@ Zak
Thank you.
If I'm reading this correctly, Apple is the only company that legally purchased the naming rights to use "Mighty Mouse". Can't CBS turn around and sue Man & Machine for illegally using that name?
Apple and CBS should just release a Mouse with the picture of Mighty Mouse on it.... How do you like them Apples? M&M?
What ever happened to that Slurm cola we were promised?
The slugs went on strike.
slurm cola, nice
Well to be honest, if you were told to get a Mighty Mouse for your lab and you googled for it, you'd get like 10 billion hits for Apple's mouse and like 1 for this one. That is a source of confusion. Even if the person knew the Apple mouse wasn't the one they wanted, the name confusion makes it difficult for them to locate the right one.
And on top of that, Mighty Mouse is a stupid name for an Apple product. I defend Apple's right to use iPhone. I don't care if it was trademarked in 1902 by Alexander Graham Bell, if anybody is going to call a phone an iPhone it should be Apple. You hear "iPhone," of course you'll immediately think of an Apple product. But Mighty Mouse sounds like one of those cheap multi-colored kids' mice or something.
I always thought that was a very out-of-character name for them anyway. To be honest, it might subconsciously be why I don't own one -- I don't need one, but that's usually not necessary. The reality distortion field doesn't work because the name is so bad.
iMouse...
Regardless of whether you think it's a stupid name, Apple legally licensed the name from CBS. That's the only thing that matters in this context.
@Zak
But CBS didn't own the "MIghty Mouse" trademark for use on computer mice... they owned it for a cartoon (and probably related clothing). The U.S. trademark system allows for the same word to be a trademark for unrelated products (e.g. Apple Computer and Apple Records), and you actually have to use a trademark for what you are asserting. CBS never owned it, so they had nothing to license to Apple. Basically, Apple's attorneys screwed up and didn't do a thorough enough search.
How can it be Apple's fault when it was CBS who okayed the license? I mean let's be clear on that point, no license would have been granted if CBS hadn't signed off on it. It seems to me that CBS's lawyers needed to do a bit of searching themselves.
Perhaps this isn't really about any trademark issue, but is yet another case of advertising via litigation. Hey, they got engadget to play ball, and now we all know of a brand-name mouse that can stand up to the rigors of the lab. And, assuming they drop the suit before it goes much farther, all this exposure probably didn't cost more than a few hundred bucks.
Everyone wants a piece they didn't earn.
@Chris
Yes and welcome to America, the land of opportunity to sue somebody else with more money then you.....
I really really REALLY hate the mighty mouse...
One of the ABSOLUTE worst (recent) apple products...
I replaced my iMac's MM with a Logitech MX-Revolution mouse
I use MX revolution and was thinking about getting Mighty Mouse..
didn't like the gear stuff on center button. If you wanna scroll down fast, just press "page down" or "end" key. I always have one of my mouse button assigned to "end" key, so that I can instantly reach the bottom of page.
Bizarre. I have a wireless Mighty Mouse and can't fault it. The scroll ball is far smoother and responsive than on any of the PC mice I've owned.
Partially agreed. The Mighty Mouse was, for me, a good mouse to use in terms of its feel in the hand and the click action. Unfortunately, where it failed was in its implementation of right-click, which only works about 95% of the time. Right-click, or any click for that matter, should work 100% of the time. So, as much as it pained me to swap a well-featured Bluetooth mouse without a dongle for a wireless mouse with a USB dongle, I went with a VX Revolution. If Apple ever sorts out the right-click on the Mighty Mouse then I'll give it another go but, currently, it really is a case of form over function because one of the primary functions just doesn't work properly.
Incidentally, props to Engadget for mentioning Danger Mouse - one of the finest cartoons ever produced.
I don't really like the Apple Mouse either. And I usually really enjoy Apple products. That dumb dot is not comfy for me.
Geez, who cares? Really, who?
I think Man & Machine actually has a great argument, despite being an Apple man myself. Trademark law protects the association of a mark as it is used in connection with goods and services. What this means is that just because there is Apple Computers, does not mean girls can't keep sporting APPLE BOTTOM JEANS. Substantially same mark, but Different Goods and Services. Simply that CBS owned rights in the mark MIGHTY MOUSE does not mean they have an absolute right to start using the mark in connection with anything they want, such as computer peripherals. Trademark protection is based on use. If Man & Machine started using MIGHTY MOUSE before CBS or Apple, or before a new federal trademark application was filed covering the goods, then Man & Machine MAY have an argument. Of course, common law usage only protects the area where the mark is actually being used. Thus, if Apple beat M&M to the punch by first filing their federal application, then they have the right of priority in the rest of the country apart from wherever M&M was ACTUALLY USING the mark. That's the benefit of federal registration.
A quick check revealed no registration on behalf of M&M, so while they have priority in whatever place they were actually using and selling the products under the name MIGHTY MOUSE, the rest of the country belongs to Apple, provided one of those has been assigned to Apple.
What annoys me is that these suits always seem to come years after the products are released and THEN say they want the defendant to stop using the name. Um, guys, even if Apple ceased using the name today there'd be 20 million of the things out there and they'd appear on eBay for the next ten years. What you want is literally impossible and is so because you delayed in initiating your court action. As such it seems to me the court should smack M&M for missing their window of practicality and reason.
Nobody really cares at all
Does anybody agree with me when i say that this is so totally dumbtastic?
This is about as dumb as saying that I will sue any parents who named their child the same as my name because I was born before they were.
This country is so sue happy that I probably would win.
Wait- so Apple bought the rights to a cartoon character to name their mouse? heh... Apple must have really wanted that name.
>"Apple bought the rights to a cartoon character to name their mouse? heh... Apple must have really wanted that name."
When you have $20 Billion in the bank, you can pretty much do whatever you want. $100k (pulling that # out of the air) for naming rights is nothing.
Joe & Tanooki: Apparently you both cared enough to post replies instead of just moving on to the next article.
DangerMouse was a great show.
I am already bored with this article. Post another so that I might be entertained.
Isn't this just a case of M&M squeezing a little bit out of Apple's cash reserves ?
If M&M used the name for a computer mouse first then Apple & CBS have no comeback, they'll just pay up as usual and the whole thing will get brushed under a small black polo neck
I ...uh...also came out with some..uh...fast food called a MacBook in 2005. Time to sue!
Good for them! It's not like Apple can design a mouse anyways -> http://www.russellheimlich.com/blog/steve-jobs-cannot-design-a-mouse/