Mighty Mouse trademark awarded to Man & Machine, Mister Trouble can stop hanging around now (updated with analysis)
By Ross Miller 
posted Oct 7th 2009 11:06PM
posted Oct 7th 2009 11:06PM
Update: Nilay here, with some trademark law nerdery for you. This trademark has a long and convoluted history, as you'd expect. CBS and Man & Machine actually both filed for the Mighty Mouse mark as it relates to computer mice in 2007 -- and CBS actually filed for it first, in May. Here's the kicker, though -- Man & Machine not only filed for this particular trademark in December of that year, but it also simultaneously sued Apple and CBS over their use of the name. Saucy! Both trademark applications were then put on hold while that case was sorted out -- and after two years of bickering, they finally settled the case and CBS abandoned its registration in June of this year, allowing Man & Machine to resume its registration. Since Apple and CBS were essentially precluded from opposing that renewed registration, it more or less sailed right through, and here we are. Simple, innit?
Oh, and for our occasionally misguided friends in the media: it's important to note that CBS and Man & Machine were the involved parties here, and they ultimately settled their dispute out of court. Apple was simply along for the ride, since its agreement was with CBS. If you're going to run with any sensational version of this, we'd suggest something along the lines of Apple screwing this up by not just buying Man & Machine for this mark years ago -- we're certain it would have been cheaper than the millions everyone's undoubtedly spent litigating this since. Got that? Good.
[Via TechCrunch]
Read - USPTO database entry for Man & Machine's "Mighty Mouse" registration
Read - Man & Machine's Mighty Mouse product page
Anybody got any new mouse names? Feel free...
...I got nothin'
albino mouse cause its all white
iPad, made of glass with multitouch capabilities like their trackpads.
...and no buttons, dammit.
I know it sounds lame but
iClick
Didn't you see the article? The name "Really Cool Mouse" is now wide open!
iWasMighty?
"myti mouse", its waaay more 'gangsta' when you miss-spell things... bro..
Tampax mouse
iRat
Honestly, computer mice are a dying breed. The glass trackpad is all I need on a MacBook, and it should be embedded in the next keyboard that Apple should offer for its desktop machines. I would love that for my Mac mini media center's Bluetooth keyboard too, although I now use the iPhone as a trackpad/keyboard/media remote combo. The Mighty Mouse name is kinda worthless to Apple now.
Danger Mouse.
You are welcome.
@Jean-Michel Decombe
Just try to convince a computer gamer the mouse is obsolete. I dare you.
When it comes to playing any sort of shooter there is no equal.
I'm sure there's a tablet joke in here somewhere...
iCrap
They should call it the Logitech MX518. Oh wait... that name is already taken by my favorite mouse.
It's already silver and black... so it matches Apple's machines better than the white bar of soap "Mighty Mouse" anyway. Apple should have just used the MX518... instead of trying to create a "better" mouse.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178
@PlotHole If we are approaching an era where only old fogies, gamers, and CAD users are really tied to the mouse, it is entirely plausible that it will be allowed to die down to a niche product. To the specific example, how many users still bother to buy a gamepad or joystick for older styles of games?
@Jean-Michel Decombe's comment may be a bit of a stretch, but not nearly enough of one to warrant so low a rating.
Wouldn't iMouse be the obvious choice?
@YoYoYo
Joysticks and gamepads mainly benefit flight simulators and fighting games. The former is a niche genre anyways, while the latter has never been all that popular on the PC. Shooters on the other hand are extremely popular. And for this genre no other existing interface really can come close to matching the precision and accuracy of a mouse. Least of all a trackpad.
But even outside of gaming I have a hard time believing anything could supplant the mouse in the perceivable future. Touchscreens might become a bit more popular, but will desktop users really want to hold their arms out towards the monitor all day long? I doubt it. And honestly, what could possibly shift the market towards *trackpads*?
MightyRat
How about MARGINAL MOUSE, short for Marginally Acceptable Over Priced Mouse. The whole thing just would never look good on a box, hence the abbreviated name.
WTF?!
Maybe they'll whip out one of those new microsoft mice, slap an apple sticker on it, raise the price by $200 and ship it everywhere.
LOL! +1
Apple should have their new mouse, Speedy Gonzalez, out by Christmas.
¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Ándale! ¡Ándale!
But Speedy is not White.... :( He is a proud Mexican. Ayayay!
Proud? LOL!
hispanic and latino are subsections of caucasian (white) in the american census records. there is reason behind this: the brown mexican is actually of caucasian and native american heritage. the spaniards that colonized/raped/pillaged mexico were all white. the native american (the continent of north america, not the country of america) peoples that were living there are what provide the brown coloration. so, in conclusion, speedy gonzales (unless he has documented proof of his native american heritage) is white.
ps this is not intended to denigrate my fine mexican brethren. it is merely tounge in cheek mental masturbation. can is say masturbation....?
MASTURBATION!
or you know they could just buy the patent from Man & Machine or evn the whole company because it doesn't seem to be all that big
Apples version has the worst scroll wheel of any mouse, over senisitive and gets stuck very easily, surprised apple havent discontinued it. Especially sinse they invented the mouse!!!
Sorry but personlly i think PC mouses are better despite my hate of anything thats not running OSX,
I love Microsoft Mouses. The Natural 7000. I carry it everywhere.
apple didn't invent the mouse, xerox did
apple just bought it from them because they knew what to do with it, and xerox didn't.
I did a little reading (Wiki it, or correct me if I'm wrong here),
apparently Xerox had/made a mouse just before Apple got popular with it.
Xerox invented all the money making computer stuff. Makes you wonder why they kept the copier around.
Xerox did not invent the mouse. Doug Englebart did at the Stanford Research Institute.
"Sorry but personlly i think PC mouses are better despite my hate of anything thats not running OSX,"
I think you mean mice don't you?
"Sorry but personlly i think PC mouses are better despite my hate of anything thats not running OSX"
I think you mean mice don't you?
Only if he's talking about rodents. Mouses is the proper plural for the computer peripheral.
Only if he's talking about rodents. Mouses is the proper plural for the computer peripheral.
Real men don't use mouses, we use cmd or terminal depending on our OS
No one invented the mouse, God did
This is just in time with all the rumours of a line refresh. Now maybe they will make a good mouse but i will miss lifting up my mouse and seeing MM's face under there :(
The one by Man & Machine is better anyway.
LOLOLOL!!!!!
He he he.
The time to have replaced that monstrosity known as the Mighty Mouse was before it was ever unleashed onto the world.
Apple wouldn't know how to make a good peripheral if it smacked them in the face.
Logitech and even Microsoft on the other hand, they know mice and keyboards.
I personally like wheel scrolling more than trackball surfing. Wheels are big but fast. Trackballs are slow but ultra-maneuverable.
Apple and Microsoft's concepts look very good though, so we'll see how things play out.
Ill just stick with the microsoft mouse i have plugged into the mac at my house.
oh the irony
Have about "SensibleMouse"
And just make a mouse with 2 buttons and a scroll wheel.
I know it's not exciting and innovative, but it works.
If Apple's new mouse is anything like the trend has been there, it will either look exactly the same and claim its faster and beefier, or they'll add a camera
Camera in a mouse, now that'd be iinnovation.
So you know those Microsoft prototypes...at least a couple of them used cameras...