A few years ago a company called PsiXpda launched a handheld computer running Windows XP. It had a 5 inch display and a QWERTY keyboard and was modeled after the popular (in some circles) Psion Series 5MX mobile device. The PsiXpda handheld was widely criticized since it’s tough to run Windows on a screen that small, especially when you’re using…
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The fight over the term “smartbook” is starting to look about as contentious as the battle for “netbook.” The difference is that the Germany company that owns the trademark for Smartbook might have a better case. It’s currently selling products under the name and it’s actively working to protect the trademark just a few months after chip-maker Qualcomm tried to…
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Now that we can all use the word “netbook” safely without fear of a lawsuit, a related trademark holder has come out of the woodwork. A German company called Smartbook has sent a letter to Sascha at Netbook News asking him to remove all references to the word “smartbook” on his site within 2 weeks. Sascha also runs NetbookNews.de, a…
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Sure, Psion may have dropped its trademark claim to the word “netbook,” but now Microsoft doesn’t want you using the word. Not because the big M is claiming some sort of stake in the trademark. But because it’s just not very descriptive. That’s something I’ve been arguing for the past year, but which Microsoft and computer makers haven’t always seen…
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After months of trading barbs, calling each other names and, you know, filing documents in court, it looks like the trademark dispute between Psion and Intel has come to an end. The two companies have settled the case with Psion voluntarily withdrawing all of its trademark registrations for the term “netbook.” In other words, bloggers, computer makers, and pretty much…
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It’s been a while since we checked in on the trademark dispute between Intel and Psion over the term “netbook.” Last I’d heard, the two companies were busy throwing legal documents at one another to establish whether the term was generic, whether Psion had been actively taking steps to protect it, and so on. Now French site Blogeee reports that…
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LG is running a contest to find a description for its X120 mini-laptop than “netbook.” It’s not clear whether the company is trying to avoid a lawsuit from trademark-holder Psion, or just looking for a whimsical way to make “LG X120″ sound a bit sexier. Either way, the company is giving away 3 LG X120 laptops to the contestants who…
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And the shouting match between Intel and Psion continues. Psion, if you’ll remember is the company behind a series of ahead-of-their-time clamshell mini-computers. The last few products in Psion’s handheld PC lineup were called Netbooks. Late last year the company started threatening legal action to retailers, computer makers, and bloggers who were using the word “netbook” to refer to computers…
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It looks like we’re in for what could be a long and protracted legal battle over the right to use the word “netbook” for commerce purposes. Because it doesn’t look like either Intel or Psion are going to back down. In 2008, Intel, along with an enormous group of computer makers, retailers, journalists, bloggers, and consumers starting using the word…
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Psion has issued a rather surprising response to challenges to its “netbook” trademark from Intel and Dell. Those companies claim that Psion essentially abandoned its rights to the trademark when it stopped manufacturing the original Psion Netbook and Psion Netbook Pro a a few years back. But Psion sent a letter to tech blog jkOnTheRun that explains that while the…
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Dell wasn’t the only company to challenge Psion’s netbook trademark in court last week. It turns out that Intel is also asking courts to cancel Psion’s trademark, declare that Intel has not been infringing on the trademark and prevent Psion from asserting any rights to the term again in the future. The Intel complaint makes some of the same allegations…
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It looks like we might not have to start referring to low cost mini-laptops as minibooks, kneetops, smallbooks, lightbooks, pNetBooks, or litebooks anytime soon. While Psion, the comany that owns the trademark to the term “netbook” has asked companies to stop using the term, computer maker Dell has filed a petition challenging Psion’s trademark. In a nutshell, Dell claims that…
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