Los Angeles, CA — Cat fight! Just one week after Steve Jobs unveiled Mac OS X Lion, MGM has filed suit to prevent Apple from using the name “Lion.”
Mac OS X Lion was to be the newest Mac operating system, following such other cats as Jaguar, Panther and Leopard. That is, until MGM roared in an LA courtroom.
MGM said in a statement, “The lion has been the symbol of MGM since 1924. If you mess with our lion, it’s going to bite.”
The legal action has apparently taken Apple by surprise. “The problem is, we’ve run out of cats,” explains our source inside Apple marketing. “Lion — king of the jungle — was going to be our grand exit from the cat game. Now what?”
Apple is scurrying to find a new animal theme for Mac OS X (click to enlarge)
Now what indeed. Some inside Apple are pressing to let the cats out and move quickly to a new theme. Canines are a logical next step, though there is also support for crustaceans and arthropods.
Some, however, prefer to stand and fight. “MGM’s claim is absurd,” explained Apple spokesperson Lucinda Weller. “Our lion has a mane, theirs does not. Their lion roars, ours does not.”
Apple still believes there may be a creative way out of this mess. By adding a modifier, as when they added Snow to Leopard, they may yet be able to carry on the cat theme. In a manner of speaking.
Don’t be surprised when Mac OS X Sea Lion launches next summer.
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