Remember how when Apple first introduced the Mighty Mouse, they had to license use of the name from CBS, thanks to everyone’s second-favorite cartoon rodent? And then, remember how both Apple and CBS were sued last year by a company you’d never heard of called Man & Machine?
So, it turns out that lawsuit didn’t just go away. As Engadget reports, that case was finally settled, and now Man & Machine, which makes washable “hygienic” input devices, has been awarded rights to the name “Mighty Mouse”—strictly when it refers to computer mice, that is.
Since Apple was licensing use of the Mighty Mouse name from CBS, and now CBS can’t quite do that anymore, Apple has only two options left: The company can try to license the name from Man & Machine, or come up with a brand new moniker altogether.
If rumors of a new, multitouch mouse are to be believed, then maybe it’s time for a new name anyway. My vote: Pepé Le Pointer.