Appletell

Apple is usually at the leading edge when it comes to great design and usability for their products, but it seems like they made a terrible exception for the Mighty Mouse.  This little input device is probably one of the worst products I have ever used with a computer.  It does look nice and the buttons on the sides are really helpful, but overall this device needs a lot of work. 

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Man And Machine, a purveyor of peripherals for Hospitals and Labs, is suing Apple and CBS.  Man and Machine claims that they started selling their “Mighty Mouse”, a chemical and water-resistant mouse, a year before Apple came out with their mouse with the same title.  Man and Machine claims that when CBS sold the rights to the name of their Superhero mouse to Apple, they were selling rights that weren’t theirs.  They company claims that there earlier sale of the device trumps the sale of rights. 

M & M does acknowledge the fact that CBS had the rights to the name “Mighty Mouse”, but in they say that CBS didn’t own the rights to a technology version of the name, as CBS’ name only applies to cartoons. 

“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,” the lawsuit reads.

Despite the fact that a dollar amount has yet to be attached to the suit, M & M is seeking damages, attorney fees, and a Court Order to prevent Apple from using the name.

Via [Mac Megasite]