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Tibco Software on Thursday filed a trademark infringement suit against Apple Computer.

Tibco alleges that Apple's Rendezvous networking software, used in Apple products such as the iTunes music service, infringes on Tibco's Rendezvous name. Tibco's Rendezvous product allows software applications to share data across networks, but came out before Apple's similar Rendezvous product, Tibco alleges. Tibco trademarked the Rendezvous name in 1994, the Palo Alto, Calif., company said in a statement.

The suit, filed Thursday in the District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Apple infringed on Tibco's trademarks with the intent to harm the company. Tibco said it is seeking unspecified damages for competitive and economic harm caused by Apple.

"Rendezvous has been a Tibco mark for many years and is one of our flagship products," George Ahn, Tibco's chief marketing officer, said in a statement. "For quite some time we have tried to reach an amicable agreement but, given Apple's continual refusal to honor our trademark, we have been forced to take action."

An Apple representative said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

News source: CNET News - Tibco sues Apple over trademark

According to Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler, the company has yet to make any firm decision on how it may alter IE in reaction to the court decision. He said Microsoft is waiting to see what occurs during the ongoing post-trial process, during which a judge will decide what sort of injunction could be imposed on the company, based on the ruling. Desler said Microsoft is preparing to appeal a court injunction, if necessary.

"We still feel there's a chance the judge may recognize Microsoft's claim that Eolas involved itself in inequitable conduct, as we believe Eolas had knowledge of...existing Microsoft technology before submitting its patent application," he said. "This discussion was excluded from the jury trial, and we think it's a powerful argument."

Desler confirmed that Microsoft is considering taking some precautionary steps with IE to bring it into accord with any potential injunction from the courts. At this point, the company is "reaching out to the industry and standards bodies to inform people what our thinking is and to get feedback regarding any possible changes," he said.

Desler said Microsoft is already considering potential workarounds for IE if the company is indeed served with an injunction that it cannot appeal.