The Transformer Prime is Asus’ Android tablet with an attachable keyboard. Not only is the concept very exciting it also has an awesome name that hints at its “transforming” capabilities. But what is in a name? A lot according to Hasbro, the company that owns the rights to anything related to the Autobots, Decepticons and their Transformer brethren.
Hasbro took Asus to court over the name “Transformer Prime” which is no surprise. What came as a surprise is that not only did the court rule in favour of Asus but that the judge’s ruling reads like a fan deconstruction of the Transformers movies. We would like to think the judge went home each day and watched Megan Fox open up Bumblebee’s bonnet in slow mo. Here is part of the ruling, courtesy of Paid Content:
The Autobots are led by the virtuous Optimus Prime character, while the Decepticons follow the powerful Megatron. According to Hasbro, Optimus Prime is intended to epitomize honor, duty, leadership, and freedom…
In the third film, an Autobot character known as “Brains” disguised itself as a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge Plus laptop [...] Hasbro developed the “Transformers Prime” animated television series, which began airing in approximately November 2010. The series focuses on the life and story of the Optimus Prime character. “Prime” was added to the “Transformers” mark in the program’s name to emphasize this focus. Thus far, the series has received several Emmy nominations and awards and has been aired in 170 countries…
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.
Sources :
Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/27/hasbro-asus-transformer-prime-lawsuit/
Gizmodo: http://gizmodo.com/5897015/the-court-transcript-for-the-hasbro-vs-asus-transformer-prime-case-is-hilarious
Paid Content: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-hasbro-cant-stop-sale-of-transformer-prime-tablets/
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