We're sure you've heard the news by now-- Apple's legal team has found themselves yet another case to keep them busy, only this time they're the ones on the attack. According to a short but sweet press release, Apple doesn't plan to sit back and smile meekly while other companies sully the iMac's good reputation by building cheap imitations. You know Future Power, the start-up Wintel company that unveiled their E-Power iMac knock-off a couple of weeks back? Well, the E-Power may come in five hues curiously similar to the iMac's fruit flavors, but as of now, you can color Future Power "sued." (Okay, so "Sued" isn't in the Crayola Big Box. We imagine it's probably a pale, sickly green.)

If you haven't seen Apple Insider's series of photos of the E-Power, you may not be aware of just how closely the E-Power resembles the iMac-- it's like the iMac's long-lost uglier twin. It's the same shape, uses the same two-tone coloring scheme, comes in the same five colors, has the same power button on the front panel, uses the same translucent power and USB cables, etc. If Apple only needs to demonstrate to the court that the E-Power might cause confusion among consumers who see an iMac billboard and hustle off to the store to buy one, this may well be one of the shortest court cases in history. Ever seen a jury deliberate for less than four seconds?

According to a MacWEEK article, a Future Power spokesperson claims that their legal defense will essentially amount to claiming that they didn't copy the iMac at all; they just wanted to make an all-in-one computer, and the E-Power's design is the natural result of trying to maintain a small footprint. In other words, there's nothing special about Apple's design because anyone building an all-in-one computer would have come up with exactly the same thing. Um, yeah-- just like anyone building such a machine would naturally offer it in five translucent colors? Bzzzt, thanks for playing. Future Power's defense is about as laughable as their original contention that they couldn't be sued: "You know why they can't sue us? Because there is a big difference-- our machine has a floppy." Well, guess what, guys? You've been sued. We know, we know-- we were shocked, too. And here we thought any company that builds a computer with a floppy drive was automatically immune from lawsuits. Well, we all learn something new every day, right?