Will the Real Transfomer Please Stand Up? Hasbro Sues Asus Over Transformer Tablet
Optimus Prime and the rest of the Transfomers crew might be the victim of identity theft, in a matter of speaking. Hasbro has filed a lawsuit against Asus alleging the company's Transformer Prime tablet is a clear violation of trademarks related to Hasbro's Transfomers brand, which has been revitalized in recent recent years through several big screen flicks.
"Hasbro continues to aggressively protect its brands and products and the specific actions we are taking today against Asus underscores yet again Hasbro’s willingness to pursue companies who misappropriate our intellectual property for their own financial gain," Hasbro said in a email to paidContent.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, and quite frankly, you could see this one coming a galaxy away. The Transformer Prime doesn't come with foldable parts to turn it into a semi-truck or some other vehicle (see our review here), but it does feature an optional keyboard dock to transform the tablet into a notebook of sorts. Even without that feature, it's hard to imagine Hasbro would let the name fly.
That's not to say Asus is guilty or that anyone in their right mind would confuse a Transformer Prime Android tablet with a kid's toy, but you can see Hasbro's angle in this. But hey, trademark law is tricky business, so how this turns out is anyone's guess. Speaking of which, what's yours?
"Hasbro continues to aggressively protect its brands and products and the specific actions we are taking today against Asus underscores yet again Hasbro’s willingness to pursue companies who misappropriate our intellectual property for their own financial gain," Hasbro said in a email to paidContent.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, and quite frankly, you could see this one coming a galaxy away. The Transformer Prime doesn't come with foldable parts to turn it into a semi-truck or some other vehicle (see our review here), but it does feature an optional keyboard dock to transform the tablet into a notebook of sorts. Even without that feature, it's hard to imagine Hasbro would let the name fly.
That's not to say Asus is guilty or that anyone in their right mind would confuse a Transformer Prime Android tablet with a kid's toy, but you can see Hasbro's angle in this. But hey, trademark law is tricky business, so how this turns out is anyone's guess. Speaking of which, what's yours?
