We’ve had a busy week here at SlashGear, with news from two shows – games-expo E3 and Computex – together with the arrival of the Palm Pre. The latter may have just a few days in the spotlight before Apple’s WWDC keynote on Monday, where we’re expecting to see a new iPhone unveiled, so get yourself up to speed with our Palm Pre review in advance of our WWDC live-blog at 10am PT tomorrow.
Just as Psion and Intel have reached an agreement over use of the term “netbook”, it looks like Microsoft may want to stick their oar in. According to Steven Guggenheimer, general manager of the Application Platform & Development Marketing Division at the company, now that many of the budget ultraportables can do more than simply accessing the internet, they should have a title that recognizes that they’re more than simply “netbooks”.
Psion have announced that other companies are free to use the netbook name, reaching an “amicable agreement” with Intel and ending their lengthy legal battle. While the full details of that agreement are unknown, Psion have confirmed that they will be voluntarily withdrawing their “netbook” trademark registrations.
Neither Intel nor Psion have accepted any level of liability in the case, which saw Psion accused of misrepresenting their hardware sales with regards what Intel perceived as a legacy device bearing the “Netbook Pro” name. Meanwhile Psion counter-sued Intel for trademark infringement, seeking to obtain not only exclusive use of the term netbook but Intel’s netbook.com domain and financial damages.
Intel have responded to Psion’s countersuit over the silicon company’s attempts to have the “Netbook” trademark revoked. Psion maintains that they have not abandoned the trademark, and that sales of their Netbook Pro device continue; Intel argues that their sales in the US ceased after 2003, and indeed the Netbook Pro is listed under “Discontinued Products” on the company’s own site.
Psion have countersued Intel over the controversial “netbook” trademark, looking to back up their recent claims to have not abandoned the term with sales figures. The countersuit requests a jury trial rather than a court decision, and demands not only preservation of the trademark but the netbook.com domain and financial damages.
The netbook trademark saga continues, and anybody who hoped Psion would roll over and play dead once Dell and Intel stepped in, think again. Psion have responded to claims that they “abandoned” the netbook trademark and are no longer selling the Psion Netbook Pro; in fact, the company claims, sales of the Netbook Pro continue, with millions of dollars worth of hardware going to US vertical markets.
Full Psion response after the cut
After Psion stepped into the netbook fray, not with a model of their own but a whole lot of legal talk that they own the “netbook” trademark, we’ve all been waiting to see which company will step up and contest it. Dell has obviously decided to be that challenger, filing a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office requesting that the Psion trademark be cancelled.
Further details of the Psion netbook trademark case have emerged, thanks to a number of statements from the legal team, Origin, supporting the UK company. The situation came to light last week, with several UK sites reportedly receiving cease & desist letters regarding their use of the term “netbook”, a term which Psion trademarked back in the 90’s for use on a range of sub-notebook devices. While the devices themselves are no longer in production, Psion does still hold the trademark and produce accessories for the line; according to their legal representation, they’re not in fact targeting fan-sites and bloggers using the term “netbook” but those making “a direct, financial profit” from its use.
Full legal correspondence after the cut
Some netbook enthusiast sites have apparently received cease and desist (C&D) letters, demanding that they remove the term “netbook” from their pages before March 2009, else face legal action. The letters, which until now have been sent to UK-based sites, claim that the netbook and netbook pro trademarks are owned by the company responsible for the Psion Netbook, a larger version of the company’s PDAs that has not been in production for some years now.
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