Apple Sued for 'Mighty Mouse' Dubbing

Man & Machine Inc. (M&M), an international provider of water-resistant computer accessories for hospitals, has sued Apple Inc. for calling its mouse "Mighty." While Apple's peripheral is indeed mighty (or so we believe), M&M claims it had introduced its own "Mighty Mouse" more than a year before Apple's was available.

Man & Machine Inc. is an international provider of water-resistant computer accessories designed for the cost-effective support of patient safety and infection control not only in hospitals, but medical laboratories, and industrial environments too, the company's website reveals. They've been in business since 1982.

M&M asserts that, while its product is a bit different (namely waterproof), the two devices are too similar in appearance (both being mice and all) thus creating confusion in the mass market.

"Because of Apple's size, fame, and large advertising budget, Apple's use of the Mighty Mouse trademark has and will continue to overwhelm M&M's use of its Mighty Mouse trademark and will cause M&M to lose the value of that trademark, including the goodwill and reputation resident therein, and will hinder M&M's ability to move into additional markets and/or further into those markets in which it already conducts commerce," said M&M's attorneys according to AppleInsider.

The company even claims Apple has been buying up search keywords on the phrase "Mighty Mouse", while proliferating the code on its webpages with the trademark so their product would be the first result of any search.

The name of Apple's mouse is used under license from CBS Operations, owner of the Mighty Mouse cartoon series, which is why M&M has named the television network as a defendant, the same publication reveals. Therefore, M&M's attorneys assert that "any such purported trademark license is invalid due to M&M's preexisting, superior rights to use the Mighty Mouse trademark in connection with computer mouses [sic]."

Mighty Mouse is also the name of a software program developed by Unsanity for users of Apple's computers, operating system and (you guessed it) peripherals. The software allows you to customize all kinds of cursors available in the system - Arrow, I-Beam, Alias, Copy, Move and the Wait cursor.

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