Hasbro, the American makers of popular action toys, is taking computing company ASUS to court over its use of the name “Transformer” on its popular range of tablet-come-laptops. And for those who shrug that off as pure co-incidence – consider that the full name of the latest gadget in the line is “Transformer Prime”.
Just when we thought Apple was the only unstoppable tech juggernaut destroying all in its path in a legal battleground, along comes Optimus Prime and pals to prove there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the infringement war and Hasbro is taking the fight to the courtroom seeking to slam an injunction on ASUS’ device and prevent further sales until the case is settled. The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer range came into existence earlier this year, with new addition Prime on it’s way next month. Asus was preceded by Hasbro’s Christmas top toy line Transformers in 1984 after originally being a Japanese brand called Dioclone and then a popular cartoon series and movie – So there is a long standing and legitimate claim to the famous name!
In true fighting talk, Hasbro make a bold statement: “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”. (Now read it again and imagine Optimus Prime’s voice saying it. Pretty epic, right?)
The injunction is being negotiated and ASUS currently plan to continue sales of its Transformer line into 2012. Meanwhile back on Cybertron, the Robots in Disguise are enjoying Hollywood Blockbuster successes!
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.