Nobody has sued Apple (AAPL) yet over the changes it made in Final Cut Pro X, the latest version of its popular professional video editing software, but judging from the language in the petition gathering signatures on the Web, it’s just a matter of time.

Endorsed by a long list of people who describe themselves as “editors and filmmakers” who rely on Final Cut Pro as a business tool, it says, in part:

“Many have invested hundreds of thousands (some even millions) of dollars in creating Final Cut Pro based companies. These are now threatened by a “prosumer-grade” product upgrade of Final Cut Pro 7 titled “Final Cut Pro X,” and will likely put several of these companies out of business. The costly process of migrating studio hardware and software is a major burden, especially on studios that have made recent upgrades to support Final Cut Pro. If many had known of the Final Cut Pro X release prior to investing in expensive hardware and software licenses, most, if not all, would have sought alternative solutions.”

By 2:35 p.m. EDT Monday, the petition has gathered 600 signatures and had risen to No. 6 in PetitionOnline’s Top 10 most active list, right after
Ban Animal Gas Chambers.

For an insider view of what Apple might have done differently, see the long screed posted over the weekend by Josh Melliker, who set up the first Final Cut Pro training program and, as far as he knows, has been editing video with the software longer than anyone in the world.

The petition is titled “Final Cut Pro X is Not a Professional Application,” and you can read it here. For the list of signatures, click here.