Court Finds Apple Not Guilty of Trademark Infringement

Computer Retailer’s Suit Against Apple Computer Dismissed

by Anton Shilov

[ 05/17/2005 | 04:48 PM ]

A judge has rejected an allegation by computer parts retailer TigerDirect for a preliminary ruling against Apple Computer over accusations that Apple’s nickname for the latest operating system, Tiger, infringes on the retailer’s trademarked name and creates difficulties for the company due to frequent appearance in search results of popular search engines.

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“Apple Computer has created and launched a nationwide media blitz led by Steven Jobs, overwhelming the computer world with a sea of Tiger references,” TigerDirect.com’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit in late April.

During the hearing, both parties provided slide presentations as exhibits. Apple also called Philip Schiller, Senior Vice Present of Worldwide Marketing, as a witness. Schiller was reportedly present when Apple selected the “Tiger” nickname for Mac OS X 10.4 and testified that Apple had no intention of trading on the goodwill built up by TigerDirect. He said Apple, over the last several years, 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, AppleInsider web-site reports.

“Turning to the overall impression created by the marks, in the context of each party’s use thereof, the Court finds that the marks are distinctly different. Tiger marks are frequent in the computer industry and that she saw no evidence that Apple adopted the Tiger name in bad faith or that it has caused any confusion in the market place,” Judge Joan Lenard wrote in her opinion denying TigerDirect’s motion.

• AppleInsider: Court Sides with Apple over “Tiger” Trademark Dispute.

• X-bit labs: Computer Maker Sues Apple for “Tiger” Brand-Name.