Cat Fight! TigerDirect.com Sues Apple over "Tiger" Trademark

[Kent Pribbernow]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/Lawsuit+could+grab+Tiger+by+the+tail/2100-1045_3-5689986.html?tag=nl' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/Lawsuit+could+grab+Tiger+by+the+tail/2100-1045_3-5689986.html?tag=nl</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Apple Computer has been hit with a trademark infringement lawsuit, alleging that its newly released Mac operating system, nicknamed Tiger, encroaches on the name of online computer reseller Tiger Direct. Tiger Direct, a subsidiary of Systemax, filed the suit Thursday and is seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction when it goes before a U.S. District Court in Florida for a hearing Tuesday."</i><br /><br />Ok, I have absolutely nothing against a company trying to protect its trademark(s), but in this case it seems to me that TigerDirect is trying to grab the spotlight (no pun intended) and cash in on the wave of publicity surrounding the release of Tiger (OSX). Think about it...why did they wait until Thursday to file this suit? Tiger has been in development for how long now? :roll:

[bluemax]

Isn't this just fair turn-about. Apple has sued just about everyone who even mentions fruit associated with something electronic. They sued Orange computers into oblivion many years ago. I don't think TigerDirect is going to benefit much from the suit though. When version 9 of the Mac operating system came out they were sued by Microware Systems Inc for infringment on their "OS9" realtime operating system. As far as I know Microware should have won but Apple never stopped using the OS-9 moniker.

[Felix Torres]

The theory behind the suit is interesting because they're going beyond the usual "confusion" theory of trademark violation to an actual damage theory by focusing on search engine results.

Worth keep in mind that while the company is currently called Tigerdirect.com, its original (and still trademarked, no doubt) name was Tiger Software.

I don't think this one goes away on a summary judgement.
This catfight has legs...

[Kent Pribbernow]

But why NOW? Systemax knew about Tiger (OSX) prior to product launch, certainly.

[Felix Torres]

But why NOW? Systemax knew about Tiger (OSX) prior to product launch, certainly.

Apparently the "damage" was not verifiable.
If they were basing the suit on confusion (as in the OS9 case, which didn't work) they could have sued earlier, but since they're suing on "actual damage" they had to wait for the damage to be measurable.

Besides, we don't know if they were trying to talk to Apple before this...
Like I said, this is a new breed of trademark suit; some lawyer somewhere got real clever...

[James Fee]

I can't see why they'd want to change apple's mind.

When people type in Tiger sucks, they'll get apple sites rather than all those millions of people who have been burned by tiger direct in the past. :lol:

[encece]

In related breaking news...I heard ACTUAL TIGERS have banded together in a class-actions suit against both companies for using their name. :D

[jeffd]

what ever happened to Tiger electronics? I remember buying a ton of their LCD handheld games when I was young. ^^

[Phronetix]

I just don't see how you can claim trademark over a particular word. I think it's different with words that are created (e.g. iPod).

Let's consider the other folks that will need to be added to TigerDirect's lawsuit:
Tiger Woods... Eldon may have to depend upon his given name!?!?!?
Detroit Tigers, all other sports teams with the nickname Tigers
The Tamil Tigers
TIGER, the Tailored Interactive Guidance on Employee Rights
TigerAirways
Tiger Electronics, the maker of Furby and other cool toys
Tiger Army, a band
The TIGER Foundation, for the preservation of tigers.
The Topigraphically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Reference system, used by the US Bureau of Census
Tiger Telematics, a tracking system technology company
the Year of the Tiger


Hmmm, then there's Longhorn...who's going to sue MS?

[encece]

Will I have to pay every time I play eenie-meenie-minee-moe???

[Felix Torres]

Hmmm, then there's Longhorn...who's going to sue MS?

Longhorn is an internal code name; the finished product will be called something else.
Longhorn steakhouse would have to get into the computer business before they can sue.

So it looks like MS is safe on that front.