Psion Responds to Dell and Intel Court Petitions

[malware]

Here's a quick reminder before going straight to the story. Recently both Intel and Dell filed petitions asking for the cancellation of Psion Teklogix' "Netbook" trademark. Both manufacturers said they need the "Netbook" term liberated from any trademark responsibility, so they can use it as unified term for new class of ultra-portable laptop computers designed for use on the go. Currently makers like Dell, ASUSTeK, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Samsung, MSI, GIGABYTE and many others sell products branded as netbooks. Today Psion responded to the legal accusations, by sending an official response to the public. The full statement, because too big, will appear after you click on the read full story marker.

In 2006, Psion in fact had multi-million dollar sales of the Netbook Pro computer in both the US and the EU. The bulk of sales were (and continue to be) in the highly specialised supply chain logistics area - perhaps not the easiest thing for third parties to get visibility on, but nevertheless, real sales to real customers in the US. And those real sales to real customers in the US continue even to this day. Attached is a typical Netbook Pro sales flyer (not included here), so you can see that Psion really were (and are) branding this computer as a 'Netbook'.

I can quite understand why people might have assumed that sales ceased a while back - it's not as if the product has been in Best Buy. But those people simply had no access to Psion's confidential sales information.

So the facts are that, although manufacture has been discontinued, sales in the US and EU have not. And its continuing sales that are important to preventing a trademark from becoming abandoned. We'll of course be setting the record straight in our court filings.

Incidentally, manufacture of the Netbook Pro had to cease prematurely not because of any lack of demand. It was because supplies of a replacement for a specialised chip controller could not be found - the Netbook Pro had very sophisticated power management, given it 8 hours of runtime and 10 days in standby, as well as instant-on (still an amazing feature in a laptop). Because of the sophisticated nature of the Netbook Pro design, a simple replacement controller could not be found and that meant that manufacture had to cease once those supplies of controllers were exhausted; it was a great pity.

I hope this clarifies the situation; Psion continues to sell the Netbook Pro computer. It's got all the invoices to prove multi-million dollar sales in the US in 2006, and sales that continue even to this day. There's been no abandonment of the trademark.

Just because we're not selling tens of thousands through Best Buy doesn't mean we're not entitled to our trademark.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[cdawall]

hmm looks like some brands are going to have a small lawsuit sitting in there pants

 

[eidairaman1]

WTG Psion, Stick it to big Business.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Currently makers like Dell, ASUSTeK, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Samsung, MSI, GIGABYTE and many others sell products branded as netbooks.

Psion didn't sue them so I say the trademark is null and void: the term is public domain.

 

[nemesis.ie]

They should grammar check their press releases.

 

[KoD]

From what little I know, I have to take Psion's side.

 

[lemonadesoda]

OMG, how refreshing to read something in "real speak" rather than "ugly aggressive lawyer threats"!

w00t to Psion! Long live Psion.

PS. The netbook pro was (is) a truly outstanding product, and to think that was available in 2002/3. (Previous non-pro was available in 1999 IIRC).

Let's hope Psion and ARM (and those nice new "ultra netbooks") can get something 2009 out and pimp it around.

 

[to6ko91]

Psion is completely right !!! Just because some big company wants to use something doesnt mean they can no mather what especially that coming from the suckers at Intel who ware acting fags when it came to nVidia and the i7 chipsets if i see somebody on the street with a brief case full of money doesnt mean I can walk to them and claim the brief case to be mine

 

[Solaris17]

pwnt. go psion

 

[KoD]

Psion didn't sue them so I say the trademark is null and void: the term is public domain.

A neighborhood kid steals one of your prized pink flamingos from your yard, you decide to let it go and don't notify law enforcement, etc.

Since you chose to write the flamingo off, does this mean the kid can come back and take things again, without repercussion?

 

[to6ko91]

A neighborhood kid steals one of your prized pink flamingos from your yard, you decide to let it go and don't notify law enforcement, etc.

Since you chose to write the flamingo off, does this mean the kid can come back and take things again, without repercussion?

i.e your house

 

[ShinyG]

Wow, Psion is pulling the old "we fight big business!" stunt! People are like "yeah, whatever you're fighting for, we're in!"....
Some people read that "official answer" and see "people talk", I see an immature public statement from a company that's blaming suppliers for their shrinking market and downfall! They lame more than the Big Three when they asked for bailout...
I don't like big business either, but on this story, I think Psion is taking the wrong approach, acting like cry-babies!

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Psion is completely right !!! Just because some big company wants to use something doesnt mean they can no mather what especially that coming from the suckers at Intel who ware acting fags when it came to nVidia and the i7 chipsets if i see somebody on the street with a brief case full of money doesnt mean I can walk to them and claim the brief case to be mine

That's not the issue at hand. Basically, it is whether it is "Netbook" (proper noun) or "netbook." Capitalizing it implies that it is a trademarked "thing." Not many people still capitalize internet which signifies the term has been disolved into the language and taken various meanings unto itself (e.g. RADAR and radar, SONAR and sonar, LASER and laser). There was a similar dispute over "Firewire" some time ago where Apple apparently won so instead of everyone in the PC world buying rights to use the trademark from Apple, they just call it by its specification (IEEE1934) when they need to be politically correct.

Basically, I'd hate to see this turn into another Firewire IEEE1934 thing where only Psion can officially use the term "netbook." I'd rather not have two words for the same exact thing (like IEEE1934) just because some business wanted to sell the word.

 

[to6ko91]

That's not the issue at hand. Basically, it is whether it is "Netbook" (proper noun) or "netbook." Capitalizing it implies that it is a trademarked "thing." Not many people still capitalize internet which signifies the term has been disolved into the language and taken various meanings unto itself (e.g. RADAR and radar, SONAR and sonar, LASER and laser). There was a similar dispute over "Firewire" some time ago where Apple apparently won so instead of everyone in the PC world buying rights to use the trademark from Apple, they just call it by its specification (IEEE1934) when they need to be politically correct.

Basically, I'd hate to see this turn into another Firewire IEEE1934 thing where only Psion can officially use the term "netbook." I'd rather not have two words for the same exact thing (like IEEE1934) just because some business wanted to sell the word.

but before psion there was no netbook so they created it so its theirs

 

[ArmoredCavalry]

Psion just has to broker some deals with these companies now, sort of like Linksys with Apple.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/21/apple-and-cisco-settle/

Also, the large computer manufacturers may claim that the lawsuit is "silly":
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/11/apple-says-cisco-lawsuit-is-silly/



P.S. I have an iPhone, the original one.

 

[qwerty_lesh]

but.. but... firewires specification is IEEE1394

 

[to6ko91]

but.. but... firewires specification is IEEE1394

and IEEE1394 name on a Mac is firewire and on sony is i.LINK and on Texas Instruments is Lynx and gateway had their own name

same as you having an animal and naming it cow and me coming along and saying I cant call it a cow I will call it muhujitsu (cool name huh ) (™)

P.S. more info on FireWire

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Heh, yup. That is exactly what will happen if Dell/Intel lose this battle. For the sake of simplicity, I hope they win.

 

[pr0n Inspector]

Imagine if Notebook was a trademark: OMFG WE ARE ALL GONNA GET SUED!!!

 

[to6ko91]

Imagine if Notebook was a trademark: OMFG WE ARE ALL GONNA GET SUED!!!

 

[Pixelated]

A neighborhood kid steals one of your prized pink flamingos from your yard, you decide to let it go and don't notify law enforcement, etc.

Since you chose to write the flamingo off, does this mean the kid can come back and take things again, without repercussion?

So that was YOU who stole my prized Flamingo collection!