Andre Yoskowitz
28 Mar 2012 12:43
In December, Hasbro sued Asus over the Transformer Prime name used in the company's new flagship tablet.
The toy company was seeking an injunction on the tablet due to brand copyright violations. Transformers Prime is an animated TV series that launched in 2010, a new generation of the popular TV series from the 80s.
As of this week, the case has been thrown out, with a judge not agreeing with Hasbro's claims: "There is nothing gimmicky about the Eee Pad Transformer or the Eee Pad Transformer Prime, nor can it be said that there is any similarity in the use or function between Hasbro and Asus's products."
Asus seems to have won the case because their device does indeed "transform" from a tablet to a laptop when adding the optional dock.
Hasbro responded: "Hasbro strongly disagrees with the Court's decision not to preliminarily enjoin Asus' use of those marks, however we were pleased with the Court's views on the strength of Hasbro's TRANSFORMERS and TRANSFORMERS PRIME marks. While the case proceeds toward trial, Hasbro will continue to actively pursue this matter and will take all steps necessary to protect its globally recognized and established marks."
Perhaps most shockingly was the amount of tablets sold, which Asus admitted to during the trial and is extremely low given the lack of supply in retailers: "As of February 24, 2012, it had received over 2,000 pre-orders..and that retailer fulfillment orders for the next two months total approximately 80,000 tablet computers," said Asus.