A Florida judge has told internet shop TigerDirect to get real, and denied its claim for a preliminary injunction against Apple's Tiger Operating System for violations of a trademark in the name Tiger.

The online store was sobbing over the fact that it had dropped down the list of search results at search enginges because Apple's Tiger was… well… more interesting to most web citizens than the online store. But a trademark apparently doesn't guarantee you a top three result with Google.

In the case Apple pointed to over 200 companies that use the word Tiger in a registered trademark.

Most people would argue that this case was lost from the beginning. But the online electronics store got a fair share of publicity, and it never hurts to file a lawsuit on the eve of a major launch. The other party might just settle.

17 May 2005