The full press release, unedited, reads:
Leading Online Retailer Claims Apple Violated Trademarks; Tiger Direct Requests Temporary Restraining Order and Injunction
MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 28, 2005–Tiger Direct, Inc. – http://www.tigerdirect.com – , a Top-10 US eCommerce site, today filed a lawsuit against Apple Computer in the United States District Court for the District of Florida. The suit alleges Apple Computer engaged in trademark infringement and unfair trade practices in connection with its recent marketing campaign for the latest version of its “MAC OS X” operating system — which Apple has named “Tiger.” As a result of the perceived confusion between the products now being marketed by Apple under the “Tiger” brand, Tiger Direct has asked for a temporary restraining order and injunction against Apple Computer to stop further damage to Tiger Direct’s well-known Tiger brand.
The lawsuit focuses on the pending release of Apple’s OS X 10.4 “Tiger” operating system. Apple has been running a sizeable multi-media marketing campaign, promoting the OS X 10.4 “Tiger” operating system since about April 12, 2005. The promotions refer to “Tiger Essentials,” Tiger Unleashed,” “Tiger World Premiere” and “X Days until Tiger,” and direct consumers to a “Tiger Center” that features products from manufacturers and product categories which are basically the same as the offerings by Tiger Direct. A preliminary injunction hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2005.
Since the company’s inception in the late 1980’s, Tiger Direct and TigerSoftware catalogs and direct-mail pieces were sent to tens of millions of PC and MAC users. TigerDirect.com, the flagship website of TigerDirect, promotes Apple products among over 30,000 other items that it sells. In addition to the TigerDirect.com website, Tiger Direct markets through a monthly catalog with circulation of over 2 million and invests heavily on branding and direct response advertising across the world wide web.
Tiger Direct has been a quickly-growing online retailer, has been an Alexa top-300 website for several years, as well as a Top-10 eCommerce site (Nielsen Net Ratings) and a site consistently listed as “longest-visited” – exceeding a 15 minute average visit length.
About Tiger Direct, Inc.
Tiger Direct, Inc., a subsidiary of Systemax Inc. (NYSE:SYX), was established in 1987 to serve the needs of both personal & business computer users, selling via catalog, Internet and retail channels. Tiger Direct is one of the industry’s leading multi-channel retailers of computer products, components and accessories. Based in Miami, Florida, Tiger Direct is part of a group of branded e-commerce web sites, direct mail catalogs, and relationship marketing selling name-brand PC hardware, related computer products, and industrial products, to businesses in North America and Europe.
MacDailyNews Take: This isn’t going to delay Tiger for 18+ months. If this is the best they can do…
Oh, BTW, we tried to find Apple over at TigerDirect.com, by using their “Shop By Brand” link, but we see nothing from Apple on the site, just a couple of “Apple iPod by HP” units. Looks like quite a few of their “partners” do have quite a lot invested in the continued “success” of Windows, though: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/partners/index.asp
We think we’ll just sit back and have a couple of beers, lah!
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple sued over ‘Tiger’ trademark, injunction sought could prevent launch – April 28, 2005
YES, I CONFUSE CORN FLAKES, COMPUTER COMPANIES AND SHADY ONLINE RETAILERS ALL OF THE TIME. NOTICE THAT THEY ARE LOCATED IN MIAMI, FLORIDA. THAT IS WHERE IN 2000, THOUSANDS OF LIBERAL INTELLIGENCIA COULDN’T FIGURE OUT A SIMPLE BUTTERFLY BALLOT THAT HAD BEEN IN USE SINCE THE 1960’S.
Village, my you are an idiot! And your cap lock is stuck. You must be using a ‘doz machine….
What do they think…that Apple just now started calling this Tiger? It has been called this for over one year and they are just now filing suit? Why didn’t they file when Apple showed it over a year ago?????
Idiots.
Magic word “anyone” as in anyone can file a lawsuit
While I am not a lawyer I have some patents under my name and I’ve registered a few trademarks too. My understand is that trademarks are not like patents or copyrights. You must vigorously defend them or give up the right to defend them.
Apple has been actively marketing the next version of Mac OS X as “Tiger” since the 2004 WWDC. Apple has been openly advertising the version as “Tiger” since then. Apple is limited to calling the OS Tiger. Apple cannot create a whole new brand under the name “Tiger”.
I have seen no instance where Apple appears to be creating a new brand. Everything Apple has done with reference to “Tiger” appears to me to be in some way related to the new OS X version.
If Tiger Direct felt that Apple using “Tiger” with regard to its new version of the OS then Tiger Direct should have filed suit and filed for an injuction during, or in the worst case immediately after, the 2004 WWDC.
Tiger Direct has not defended against Apple using the term “Tiger” with regard to the new version of the OS and with regard to things that are compatible with new versions of the OS. Thus Tiger Direct has already ceded the right to any injuctive relief. Tiger Direct has already ceded to Apple the right to use Tiger Direct with regard to the new version of the OS and with regard to items compatible with the new OS.
Tiger Direct needs to get competent lawyers who will tell them that this is ludicrous at best.
Unless it’s purely a publicity stunt… which it might be. File, get LOTS of press, then fold in the first court hearing just seconds before the judge throws you out on your ear!
I’m going to Exxon to put a Tiger in my tank.
Did they ever sell an Apple computer? I remember buying a barebone system to setup for a client years ago, but it’s always been cheapo PC’s from what I recall.
Another bunch of wa*kers looking for their 10 minutes in the sunshine.
What is important is that Apple don’t give them the attention their seeking.
Get the office clerk to write to them sometime next week and ignore the lawyers.
This is just another example of Microsoft’s stranglehold on the IT industry.
Microsoft hold a meeting prior to Tiger’s launch, looking at all the ways in which they can damage Apple (not because they need to from a monetary perspective, this is all about Bill Gates’ ego).
Numerous strategies come up, one of which is the name ‘Tiger’. I short phone call takes place from Microsoft’s lawyers to the lawyers of TigerDirect in which they point out this very minor potential infringement, what the best strategy is to benefit them both and, as a side note, what would happen to TigerDirect if they don’t comply with Microsoft’s bidding.
Hey presto, Apple gets sued (again). I’ve no proof whatsoever that this is what happens, but if I were a sick, twisted geek with more money than most small European economies and an ego that’s roughly the same size, this is what I’d do.
Do we all really think that TigerDirect came up with this idea by themselves?
I agree with Tara. Stop doing business with them. And if some other site, like Amazon, tries to redirect me to them, they’ll get on my sh*t list too. Hit ’em where it hurts… in the wallet.
And if you mail them, use tigerdirect.com mail address so they put themselves on spam lists. Or reply to themselves even…!
I do rather hope TigerDirect become seriously damaged by this pointless, sad exercise in self promotion.
Even if you dig really deep, the only products they have by Apple are iPods and iPod Accessories. Which don’t really have much to do with Tiger, do they? They are definitely in bed with microsoft. I think Apple should cut them off from iPods too.
All of this owning of words is going a bit overboard in my opinion. I can agree with fighting knock off branding that is obviously mean to confuse the user but this is ridiculous. I liked MDN’s take. I’m sure Tiger Beer was established long before TigerDirect. I wonder how TigerDirect would feel if they got sued by them? And how about Frosted Flakes and Tony the Tiger? What about them, huh? Or Esso Gas – Put a Tiger in your tank!
The Apple Corps/Apple lawsuit was the same kind of deal. No one is gonna get these two mixed up. This is really abusing the intent of the law – which in my opinion was meant to prevent people from doing things like opening hamburger restaurants called Macdonalds instead of McDonalds and putting a big golden M out front.
TigerDirect is at the very least alienating current and future Mac Users and I hope their sales go way down because of it and I hope the legal fees for them are really high and that they end up losing the case anyway. A POX on them, I say!
Anyone here ever hear of FatWallet? It’s a huge community of bargain hunters who share deals they find on anything anywhere.
You’ll notice that when you visit their forums the best way to get bitched at or have your post voted down with negative ratings is to post a “deal” from TigerDirect. They’re only worth buying from if you intend never to require customer service and never, never, never buy anything from them that has a rebate because you might as well burn your money just to watch it burn.
Sorry to say, but I’ve never heard of Tiger Direct till today. Hasn’t Apple been using the Tiger code name for like a year now? Why wait till now to sue?
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”–Wm. Shakespeare
I always love the use of this quote. In Henry IV the character who says is clearly an idiot. It was supposed to be something stupid no one would ever agree with. Shakespeare liked lawyers, they were the heroes of some of his plays.
Lawyers are generally scumbags that will do anything for a buck. No wonder our court system is so f*cked up. All of the judges are lawyers, too.
News Flash
Battle Creek, MI
Tony the “Tiger” filed suit today in the Superior Court of Michigan in Battle Creek against Apple and Tiger Direct claiming trademark infringement and trademark dilution. Tony the “Tiger” first began using the name in 1951.
Tiger Direct, what a joke…
It’s started, the MS monolith juggernaut spiel, Henric County, NPR with BG topic innovation, MSNBC mention of Longhorn today, TigerDirect. Something like this occurred with Netscape in view of IE. Also no positive mention of Apple’s new OS as what surely will be copied in MS’s Longhorn (now we know why it’s delayed debute).
Tigerdirect should be happy as they will get more hits at their website due to people actually searching for “Tiger” otherwise how would anyone find them? Looks like they may gain MORE customers by Apple using the Tiger name.. If I was them I would shut up and laugh all the way to the bank..
Well if there’s such a stink over “Tiger”, Bill gates better watch out too… “Longhorn Steakhouse”, “Texas Longhorns”, “Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America”, “Longhorn Cavern State Park”, “International Texas Longhorn Association”, and “The University of Texas Longhorn Band” have trademark recognition too, ya know! =)
I just sent this email to Tiger Direct.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
I don’t even own a mac and I think your lawsuit against Apple is crazy.
You guys will lose a lot of customers because of this.
Glenise
Oh yeah, I haven’t purchased anything from Tiger Direct in over 10 years (I think).
I ordered Brand A sound card from them and they sent me Brand B.
I called customer service and told me I asked for a certain brand for a reason.
I remember now.
I ordered a sound card that had a Yamaha chipset and Tiger Direct send a sound card with another chipset instead.
I was really ticked off.
I think they refunded my money but I never orderd from them again after that.
I have them in my IE favorites but only to compare prices with other companies that I buy from.
Every one knows that modern life is high priced, however different people need money for different stuff and not every man earns big sums cash. Thus to receive quick business loans or commercial loan will be a correct way out.
Study process requires good writing skills, but, students, which have no time can destroy their academic success. Thus, to buy the term paper format from the article critique writing service could be a perfect solution.
You have got professional writing skillfulness and you theme is perfect. I opine that university students would like to write the essays of the same quality and the admission essay writing service would be able do it for them.