The Tiger suit is off
It took them 56 pages to say "TigerDirect, you're craaaaaazy," but a U.S. District Court for the District of Florida has denied TigerDirect's request for injunction against Apple over the use of the "Tiger" nickname. They were asking that Apple be enjoined from using the "Tiger" moniker to promote its new operating system (Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, natch) anywhere on its web site or in any new advertising, packaging or signage. We're pretty sure the key witness in this case was Senior VP of Marketing Phil Schiller, who testified that Apple "had engaged in a practice of naming updates to Mac OS X after large predator cats in order to convey the strength and speed of the operating system" — the man speaks truth. They also presented evidence from a survey that revealed only 6 percent of consumers associated the name "Tiger" with TigerDirect. We'll take it upon ourselves to summarize the 56-page ruling by Judge Joan Lenard in colloquial terms: "Any fool who shops at both Apple and TigerDirect will be able to distinguish between the two outlets." Say it, Joan!
