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The Good Ones Are Taken (11/8/98)
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Microsoft's not the only high-tech company that has to deal with trademark ickiness, though their extended court battle for the right to wrest the "Internet Explorer" trademark away from a bankrupt ISP in Illinois will go down in history as one of the more expensive, ugly, and embarassing examples. However, the anticipated trouble over the "Windows 2000" name apparently won't be a problem, as the owner of the trademark is a big Microsoft fan and we assume that a happy resolution isn't far off. On the other hand, there's the little issue of one of Apple's product names infringing on another company's trademark...
Now, we're not talking about ancient history, like the occasional brief tussles with John Lennon's Apple recording label, or the way that Steve Jobs had to secure the name "Macintosh" from a maker of high-end audio equipment. We're talking about stuff in the here and now, namely, the Power Macintosh G3 and the PowerBook G3. It would appear that, according to MacNN, "G3" is a trademark and service mark of an Internet and multimedia design and consulting firm named-- surprisingly enough-- G3 Systems, Inc. Whoops! Just a little bit of toe-stepping, there.
It's kind of ironic that one of G3's claims to fame is that it was a pioneer in the field of multiprocessor server technology. After all, the G3 processor (er, the one Apple uses-- you know, that PowerPC 750 thing) isn't really built for multiprocessing, which is why you don't see any multiprocessor systems from Apple these days. To boost the irony index even higher, G3 Systems' early multiprocessing box used Motorola 680x0 chips-- the same chips used in Macs before the PowerPC showed up to the party. Anyway, while they're admittedly a little peeved with Apple for the appropriation of their trademark, G3 Systems doesn't seem angry enough to pursue legal action. Heck, by the time things got to court, Apple would probably be selling Power Mac G4's anyway. Er, hmm, perhaps Apple should contact G4 Corporation and start talks now? (D'oh!!)
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SceneLink (1133)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 11/8/98 episode: November 8, 1998: Best Buy was expected to leap into the iMac fray this weekend, but its participation is half-assed at best. Meanwhile, Apple continues to use the "G3" name, despite the fact that the trademark belongs to another, and "Redmond Justice" is expected to run for a whole season, despite the judge's wishes...
Other scenes from that episode: 1132: Best Buy, Worst Attitude (11/8/98) Some things never change-- or, at least, they change too slowly to notice. Take Apple's presence in the retail market, for example. Just over a year ago, conditions were atrocious: show-floor Macs were off, crashed, crowded by Wintels, and actively ignored by salespeople... 1134: Renewed for Full Season (11/8/98) Okay, now that the "Homer gets a brain transplant" Pentium II commercial was revealed to be less than thrilling and the X-Files season premiere left us feeling slightly hollow (there's an unintentional veiled reference there if you think about it), we're anxious to get back to the slings and arrows of "Redmond Justice."...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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