Doesn't Tigger have priority?
Posted on 04/28/2005 3:45:44 PM PDT by general_re
Apple Computer has been slapped with a lawsuit by Tiger Direct Inc. for allegedly infringing its trademark with the new Mac OS X "Tiger'' operating system scheduled for release on Friday.
Tiger Direct, which sells computers and related products on the Internet, said Appke's Tiger OS threatens to dilute its trademarked name, according to Bloomberg, which has obtained a copy of the lawsuit.
The online retailer also accused Apple of deceptive and unfair trade practices in the lawsuit, filed today in federal court in Miami, Florida, Bloomberg said.
"Apple Computer has created and launched a nationwide media blitz led by Steven Jobs, overwhelming the computer world with a sea of Tiger references," Tiger Direct's attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
If the court grants Tiger Direct's request for an injunction, Apple's rollout of Tiger could be stopped.
Tiger Direct, which is based in Miami, Florida, has used its family of Tiger trademarks to sell computers and computer related products since 1987, the lawsuit said. The company owns trademarks on the names Tiger, TigerDirect and TigerSoftware.
The retailer said Apple's use of the name "is causing confusion, mistake and deception among the general purchasing public."
At the root of the issue appears to internet search results. Tiger Direct contends that Apple's use of the name has adversely affected its ranking amongst the Internet's largest search engines, Google and Yahoo, bumping the company from its usual spot in the first three results.
Tiger Direct has asked the federal court to block Apple from using the name, according to Bloomberg.
The online retailer is also seeking damages and legal fees.
I think they're still pushing it. All of Apple's "Tiger" references are to a specific operating system product. They don't call their whole online store "Tiger Direct" so I can't see any infringement.
I think they're pushing it too, but it's not a complete BS moneygrab either - you can make a case that Apple is using "Tiger" to promote Apple retailing. Whether it's a good case or not is what courts are for ;)
Just the fact that they're pushing it most likely means they won't get their preliminary injunction, not to mention the judge will obviously ask why they waited until the last minute to file. They may get something eventually in the end, maybe Apple settling, promising not to promote Tiger in they way they are now, but by then the big Tiger campaign will be over.
i use tigerdirect a lot, but they are so full of crap in this it is unbeliebable!
Doesn't Tigger have priority?
Eh, that's just SOP, to maximize their leverage in negotiations. $5 says that TD walks out of this with a better deal on Apple-branded stuff for their store ;)
$5 back says they don't get the preliminary injunction though. :)
Probably not, but I foresee a non-cash settlement in the not-too-distant future.
For one thing, they have objective evidence that their business has been hurt. Being moved down the list in google will cost money.
I wonder what FReepers would be saying if Microsoft came out with a software product called NewEgg.
Nah, I'm not Steve Jobs. I've just been burned by Tiger Direct before. I also find it convenient how they wait until the day before Tiger's release to file a lawsuit.
And geography. I remember some cases of small local stores using a name, then a chain from the other side of the country has the same name as a trademark. The problem only starts when the chain expands into that neighborhood.
Quite so, although I think conflicts are likely to become more common here in the age of the internet...
Poor babies, such are the vagaries of searches. Let's say I had a for-profit religious site with the trademarked name Benedict. Then the new Pope chooses that name, and as the world gets in a frenzy over it my Google ranking slides dramatically. Should I sue the Catholic Church?
The problem comes from using the same name in the same business.
This is not the first time Apple has done this. They wiggled out of a lawsuit with Apple Records by signing an agreement not to go into the music distribution business.
"No comment here either, except (OK, 1 comment) that when I saw an article in the paper about the new Tiger Operating System recently (within the last 2 days), I thought it was TigerDirect as well."
I'd really like to see the article you reference. All of the articles CLEARLY state Apple Computer as the manufacturer. I surely hope you are not a gullible as this.
As does the phrase, "What idiot doesn't check the trademark registry before naming the new OS?"
They shipped me a faulty CPU and refused to replace it. This was a couple of years back, so I'm not sure if they've cleaned up their act or not--either way, I've been giving my business to Newegg since then.
So how do you get some law schools to shut down?
I read somewhere that the vast majority of lawyers of UNDER 40 with even more being turned out and more law schools opening.
Tort reform that ignores law schools as part of the reform will never succeed. (caps only mean a lawyer will now file ten cases to make up for the work that was accomplished by one case)
Do they have a duty to mitigate? This is trademark infringement, not contract law.
Also, if they got a response letter from Apple that said something like, "we do not comment on the names of unreleased products," even if they had a duty, that could mitigate their failure to mitigate!
On the other hand, how long has "Tiger" been on the Apple website?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.