Asus Sued by Toy Maker over Transformer Prime Name

Perhaps the last thing Asus was looking forward to is a legal twist in the Transformer Prime story. The Taiwan based company is having to deal with availability issues of the only quad core tablet so far, and if that is not enough, a Hasbro versus Asus battle will also have to be accommodated in the Transformer Prime scheme of things from now onward.

As things stand right now, the name “Transformer Prime” has sparked off the entire issue, as Hasbro also has products with the same name. This prompted Hasbro to file a suit against Asus seeking an order to ban the sale of the Transformer Prime tablets in the US.

“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,” revealed Hasbro representatives.

Hasbro uses the name Transformer Prime for their line of toys which include action figures, toy vehicles, toy robots that are convertible into other forms, board games, and parlor games. The term Transformer is from a popular 80’s children’s cartoon, and the toys can change form and are used with some add-ons or replaceable parts. In a similar manner, the tablet from Asus is also something that can be transformed from a Tegra 3 based slate to a notebook. It would require a removal of the battery dock and replacing with the notebook battery pack.

The outcome will be interesting as consumers are unlikely to mix up something as diverse as children’s toys for a hi-tech Android based tablet computer, even if they both share the same name. In any case, the latest legal tangle is among the many we have seen so far rattling the tablet computer scene, with the most famous among them being undoubtedly the Apple vs Samsung battle.

Asus, so far, has not come up with any comments on the issue.

via paidcontent

Sovan Mandal

Sovan Mandal is the senior tablet and tech corespondent for goodereader.com. He brings a international approach to news that is not just applicable to the North American market, but also Asia, India, Europe and others. Sovy brings his own writing flavor to the website and is interested in Science Fiction, Technology and Writing. Any questions, send an email

Ryno Bones

This gives me an idea. . .I’m going to sue a certain author with whom I share the exact same name (even the middle name). Make him give me ebook copies of his novels. Even though no one will confuse the two of us, it is a brand loyalty thing. My friends may feel obligated to buy his books instead of just giving me their money.
Michael

Cool, see if they will throw in some generic go-bots figures and send them to us!
Anonymous

I think Hasbro is reaching. There is no confusion between a computer and a toy. Furthermore transformers are an electrical device and ‘prime’ is a generic term so while Hasbro is free to make a claim they end up looking corporately jealous. The ASUS Transformer Prime lends itself perfectly well to being an electrical device as well as being a prime example of a tablet computer both a far cry from the description of child’s toy. It’s an unwarranted opportunistic suit in my estimation and unfortunate.