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Asus picked an excellent name for its upcoming Android tablet. Too bad the name, Transformer Prime, is very similar to a series of toys created by Hasbro. As it turns out, the toy company owns trademarks for the word “Transformers” and “Transformers Prime”, which is terrible news for Asus. Hasbro threatened to vigilantly defend its trademark and filed a lawsuit against Asus.
Admittedly, the Asus tablet and the Hasbro toys target a different market, but, as TechCrunch points out, Hasbro sells a line of Transformer video games and accessories for the PC and the Xbox 360. It’s also worthy to note that the main character in the series is Optimus Prime, which is close to Transformer Prime; perhaps close enough that people may think the Asus product is somehow endorsed by Hasbro.
It’ll be up to a judge to decide if there is any overlap. The toy maker has asked for an injunction against Asus and the court has given Asus 21 days to respond.
[Via TechCrunch and The Verge, Photo via Faiz Zaki]
About The Author
Kelly Hodgkins
Kelly spent the last four years covering mobile technology at places like BGR, Gizmodo and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Before writing, she spent a few years working with and teaching others how to use Adobe Flash and Macromedia Director. Even earlier than that, she spent several years as a Ph.D student in Microbiology. When she's not writing, she can be found fishing the lakes and hiking the mountains of Western Maine with her husband and tribe of children. You can follow her on Twitter @kellyhodgkins.
