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Apple Sued Over Rendezvous Trademark

Posted by pudge on from the i-sue-you-sue-we-all-sue dept.

bdsesq writes "The Register is reporting that Tibco is suing Apple over the name 'Rendezvous'. Tibco has owned the name since 1994. It seems that Apple doesn't want to pay what Tibco wants."

6 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Rendezvous? by Alex+Thorpe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So can a company trademark single words in a foreign language? What do the French think of this? I'd think it'd be like trademarking a word such as "travel".

    --
    "Common Sense Ain't" -Unknown
  2. Re: Apple Sued Over Rendezvous Trademark by justforaday · · Score: 4, Interesting

    maybe apple should just go back to calling it zeroconf. that sounds so much cooler anyways...

    --
    I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
  3. Re:Humph... seems obvious by killerc · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The "Rendezvous" software of Tibco is messaging software. Apple's is networking configuration.

    Rendezvous is mainly a networking/peripheral configuration system, but it does possess messaging components via iChat, so it's possible a judge could see significant overlap between the two products.

  4. Re:No confusion by Stigmata669 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Actually, Apple's Rendezvous also has a messaging componant in iChat, so there is a shred of a case.

    --
    Yawn.
  5. Apple has done this before... by CptTripps · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A few years back Apple decided to call their new internet service "iTools" a name that Tenon had a TM on for 2 years at that point. Apple's response? "We can both use it...they are different."

    I'm not sure if it was because of Tenon that Apple changed it to ".Mac" but it was a pretty shitty thing to do to Tenon. iTools is a great product.

    --


    My .sig can beat up your honor student.
  6. Bah by Harv · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Color me cynical, but it also entirely possible that Tibco, knowing that any suit against Apple for infringment would be instantly posted to major tech sites, like SlashDot, filed this suit as a PR move. I think, in fact, that this is the most likely explanation for why they filed.

    They can't have been blind to the boatload of free advertising for their otherwise invisible product that such a move would garner. The legal fees are much cheaper than an ad campaign.