What is it about mice? (Perhaps we should ask Holly.) First it was the copyright term extension legislation prompted by the imminent entrance of Mickey Mouse into the public domain.
Now it’s Mighty Mouse’s turn.
“Apple sued over Mighty Mouse”: “A US hardware firm is taking Apple and CBS to court over the Mighty Mouse name. Man & Machine has, since 2004, sold its Mighty Mouse – a waterproof and chemical resistant optical mouse for medical, industrial and marine applications. The firm has filed suit in Maryland, US alleging that Apple’s Mighty Mouse, on sale in wired and wireless forms since 2005, infringes a trademark owned by M&M for use of the name Mighty Mouse.
Apple licensed the right to use the name Mighty Mouse from US broadcaster CBS, which owns the name through its rights to the 1940s cartoon show – Mighty Mouse.
So Apple is in the clear, right? Not so according to M&M, which argues that CBS has no right to license the cartoon show’s name to a computer mouse.
In the suit, M&M said that “Apple’s use of the Mighty Mouse trademark has and will continue to overwhelm M&M’s use”. “
A corporate-legal fight over a cartoon character always has a kind of amusingly surrealistic touch to it. Just imagine all the suits huffing around saying things like “Apple’s use of the Mighty Mouse trademark has and will continue to overwhelm M&M’s use.” (And of course I envision a big bowl of M&Ms sitting on the meeting room table as they pronounce this.) I mean, these guys don’t break down and start to giggle at some point?
Grab your mouse and stay tuned for the next episode.
