Someone else mentioned the Atari and Munchkin case. The facts were similar. North American developed K.C.Munchkin and originally wanted to obtain a PAC-MAN license. When they were unable to do so, they came up with the K.C.Munchkin name and changed a number of features.
The appeals court ruled in favor of Atari and granted an injunction against North American:
Yeah i tried to disclaim it with "it is supposed" because the rulings have been all over the board. I agree that the claim/counterclaim should be used properly but, for me personally if I where Apple I would arbitrate to CYA alone. It's a small price to pay, to be able to prove you exhausted all means to arbitrate the dispute as a third party. I think most would rule out liability on Apples part if they did so.
The appeals court ruled in favor of Atari and granted an injunction against North American:
http://www.patentarcade.com/2005/04/case-atari-v-north-ameri...
Actual ruling:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1643313902072203...
I think your arbitration idea has merit, though the DMCA's claim/counterclaim process was designed to handle this type of situation.