My new favorite deep Windows lore: Microsoft once broke its Bluetooth driver code by sticking a ® symbol in the name of its own mouse

There's something I find deeply funny about the use of copyright and trademark symbols in games. I get why these symbols are important in legal contexts, but, like, was it actually vital to display ® or ™ next to every character's name in the Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 fighting game on the PlayStation® 2? Everybody knows you own Goku, dawg. They can't steal him just because you didn't slap down that icon somewhere.

But I suppose corporate legal departments often get their way, even when the end result looks silly or causes actual headaches. I recently learned about a perfect example of the latter by reading about Windows Bluetooth drivers, and I swear to god it's both more interesting and funnier than you're expecting any story about Windows Bluetooth drivers could possibly be.

Back in 2006