“A tiny tech company based in Landover, Md. stirred the Mac blogosphere yesterday by filing a lawsuit against Apple [and CBS] over, of all things, the use of the name ‘Mighty Mouse,'” David Zeiler reports via blog for The Baltimore Sun.
“Man & Machine Inc., a private company with 20 employees, has sold a specialty mouse (it’s waterproof and chemical resistant) under the name ‘Mighty Mouse’ since March 2004,” Zeiler reports. “Apple, of course, introduced its own ‘Mighty Mouse’ in August 2005.”
“Knowing ‘Mighty Mouse’ is a famous crime-fighting cartoon figure, Apple simply sought permission to use the name from the company that owned the rights to the cartoon – CBS Corp.,” Zeiler reports. “CBS agreed and licensed the term ‘Mighty Mouse’ to Apple for use with its computer product.”
“Under U.S. trademark law, first use of a trademark generally carries the day. M&M could have saved itself a lot of trouble, however, had it filed for the ‘Mighty Mouse’ trademark in 2004,” Zeiler reports. “Instead, it no doubt contacted Apple to complain. Apple no doubt contacted its friends at CBS and lo and behold – CBS filed last July to trademark the term “Mighty Mouse” to describe a computer-pointing device.”
“When that trademark was published for opposition in December, M&M filed its own trademark application, citing first use as the basis for its counterclaim,” Zeiler reports. “The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has yet to rule on the dispute.”
Hold all bets
However, Zeiler reports, “CBS could argue the fame of ‘Mighty Mouse’ should prevent its unauthorized use by almost anyone else for almost any commercial purpose. If the court agrees, Apple wins by its having licensed the name from CBS. If the court sees things M&M’s way, Apple will… need to rechristen its mouse.”
More details in the full – and nicely thorough – article here.
M&M;is going to have a tough time with this I think.
In the 1950s, the name Mighty Mouse was unofficially applied by the United States Air Force to the 2.75 in (70 mm) FFAR (Fin-Folding Aerial Rocket) weapons used by various USAF interceptor aircraft against bombers. The “Mighty Mouse” rockets were carried by the F-86D Sabre, F-89 Scorpion, F-94 Starfire, and F-102 Delta Dagger.
(source: wikipedia)
Like a name really sells anything….
well my experience with with the “mighty mouse” has been less then mighty. No amount of cleaning and fiddling will get it to scroll down. Up works just fine.
I don’t care about the name, they can call it stupid mouse and I will still buy it.
Hey, look what I found:
http://mactracker.ca/
Uh oh:
Introducing Apple’s New Cordless ‘Mighty Muskrat’ ! …
uh,
Mighty Marmot! …
um, …
Robust Rodent! …
….
hooboy….
I can honestly say I don’t care
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“No amount of cleaning and fiddling will get it to scroll down.”
Unplug it. Turn it upside down. Rub the ball vigorously while it’s upside down to get the dirt to come out. Plug it back in.
That little ball is definitely a design flaw. For some reason, dirt affects down scrolling more than up.
did that already, thanks anyway
The original Might Mouse would not Approve. :-_
Sorry, macaholic. It worked for me. Maybe this would be the time then to find out if it blends?
“Introducing Apple’s New Cordless ‘Mighty Muskrat’ ! … uh, Mighty Marmot! … um, … Robust Rodent! .. “
But not Missy Mouse?
As Mighty Mouse is a cartoon icon. It’s like trying to use the name Mickey Mouse, Steamboat Willy or even Donald Duck for any commercial product or venture without getting permission from Disney first. Disney’s going to win every time. In this case CBS owns a cartoon icon in Mighty Mouse.
Apple should put a small Mighty Mouse image on the package to enforce the brand recognition of CBS’s Mighty Mouse cartoon icon and show support for Might Mouse. CBS should counter claim seeking back royalties from Man & Machine for using their Iconic cartoon name Mighty Mouse in the first place.
@ macaholic:
to clean the MM, all you need is a clean sheet of printer paper and a flat surface. Put the paper on the flat surface and run the mouse(track-ball down) up and down and then left to right with a little bit of pressure. As you roll the mouse, bits of icky should fall out. I was having the exact same problem until I found this solution online. Just turning it upside-down and rolling the track-ball will not solve the problem…
@ Macaholic
get a bit of that lubricating oil you use to oil up paper shredders and the like. put a little (seriously little) on the ball and spin it around for a bit . . . dry it off, works like a charm.
sleeve,
just tried it and it’s improved scrolling a lot.
Thanks!
apple should settle out of court and use the time to rebrand the mouse. mighty mouse was a stupid name anyway.
suggestions?here’s mine:
brick mouse (lionel richie could do the ad)
Let’s just call it the Dirty Mouse, as mine seems to get its trackball gunked up rather quickly.
@ macaholic:
I had this same problem, only scrolling up didn’t work.
Before you try the oils, etc., do this:
1. Open System Preferences, Keyboard & Mouse
2. Click on the Mouse tab (I believe, I’m on my laptop now, so no Mouse tabs)
3. Change the drop-down menu to change the manner in which you’re allowed to scroll. My problem occurred when set to scroll horizontal and vertical only. I changed the setting to allow me to scroll in any direction. Then use it for a bit to see if that works. If so, change back to your previous setting and all should be fine.
If that doesn’t work, then try the other solutions. This one may just be a software bug.
They could rename it “The Third Coming of Christ” or “The Jesus Mouse” for all I care.. I still won’t buy one. Worst mouse I’ve ever laid hands on. Too tiny for my humongous hands, kludgy right-click action, etc. It’s just awful.
“Just turning it upside-down and rolling the track-ball will not solve the problem…”
It did for me.
@macaholic
I tried a little rubbing alcohol on mine, and it seemed to work better. Does get stuck in only one direction from time to time though. Thought the alcohol might get some of the oils off. Some risk of drying out the ball, which may, over time, reduce the effectiveness of the device.
@macaholic
How to fix scrolling of in the Mighty Mouse.
Use a paper towel of a lint-free cloth slightly moistened with a mild detergent, or, maybe better, rubbing alcohol.
Turn the mouse over and rub the mouse in all directions over the towel, pressing in down so the scroll ball is pushed in somewhat.
After that, rub the mouse likewise over a dry area of the towel, also occasionally slamming it down on the towel, so any accumulated lint gets a chance of getting past the scroll ball to the outside.
I can assure you, after this treatment, your mighty mouse should scroll normally.
macaholic…
Still under warranty? Was it bought as an additional mouse (retail packaging)? If it was bought retail, there is a 1 year warranty on it. If you have any Mac in warranty, take the mouse and your Mac proof of purchase (with serial number) to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider and they will try cleaning it, and if that fails, they will replace it. I personally have replaced over 50 of these easily for the exact same problem.
The Dude abides.
ohh, and if you still have warranty on it…. do not using any fluid other than a “Slightly dampened cloth” to clean it. A tech smells chemical on it, you are likely to lose that warranty coverage.