Psion, Intel settle 'Netbook' trademark dispute

Psion and Intel have settled their legal battle over the use of the word "Netbook."

Since early 2008, chipmaker Intel has been using the term to refer to small, cheap, low-powered sub-notebooks, and its Atom chipset has become by far the most popular engine for such machines.

An Acer Netbook.

(Credit: Acer)

However, British PDA maker Psion registered a trademark for "Netbook" in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1996. The company, which is now called Psion Teklogix and is based in Canada, introduced a handheld device called the NetBook Pro earlier this decade but no longer sells the product.

In late 2008, Psion began sending out cease-and-desist letters to manufacturers and news outlets that used the word "Netbook" while referring to the newer devices. Psion also sued Intel over use of the trademark.

Intel had contended that "Netbook" is a "widely used generic term...much like the term 'notebook.'"

On Monday, Psion issued a statement in which it said that it and Intel had "settled the trademark cancellation and infringement litigation brought in the Northern District of California relating to the 'Netbook' trademark registration."

"The litigation has been settled through an amicable agreement under which Psion will voluntarily withdraw all of its trademark registrations for 'Netbook,'" the statement read. "Neither party accepted any liability. In light of this amicable agreement, Psion has agreed to waive all its rights against third parties in respect of past, current or future use of the 'Netbook' term."

Neither party has given details of any possible financial element to the settlement.

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.

[codynews]

Intel doesn't sell netbooks (still hate that word), so why the beef from this Psion company towards Intel? Why not be all butt-hurt that Dell/HP/Acer/etc. are selling them.

And this quote: "Intel had contended that "Netbook" is a "widely used generic term...much like the term 'notebook.'"" is right on. "Netbook" is just some generic name for a low end small laptop. It's not Intels fault.

Cody

[kaibelf]

Seriously, these little go-nowhere loser companies always trying to trademark the dumbest things..... pitiful.

[regulator1956]

Psion might not be the powerhouse anymore, but they have an impressive history. In the 90's, Europe was Psion loving. I had a 3A and it was vastly superior to anything else out there.

The Psion operating system, EPOCH, was the basis for Symbian.

Psion's hardware side made some mis-steps in the late 90's and was gone by 2001.

[intelligent_design]

Friends, its just human greed which shows its ugly head now and then, more often nowadays. The patent system is completely broken and needs to be revamped from Grounds up. If you want your say in it, please petition President Obama to completely scrap the current system and replace it with something which actually does not hinder progress. The current system is more than 50 years old when the rate of discoveries were so much slower. The information exchange in current world is almost instant.

These types of lawsuits are completely ludicrous that someone cannot use a name of a product which another company used to sell a decade ago and has not done so since then and in this particular case the name which has now become a generic term referring to a lower end notebooks.

[regulator1956]

Uhm, this has nothing to do with the patent system - trademark law.

Trademarks are important and the law provides more than 10 years of life to them. Psion's error appears to be that they didn't slam the first company to use their trademark and keep slamming.

That's how McDonald's and others do it. The instant they find out about an infringement, they slam.

[MartyrIcebear]

As awful as the patent system is, the above poster is correct that this is a more straight forward trademark dispute. Psion made a product called a Netbook, and they trademarked it,so the name is theirs. However there needs to be a certain amount of diligence on their part to enforce the trademark, much like how Tivo took action against anyone that claimed their device allowed you to "Tivo" your favorite shows. They wait too long and the word becomes a common term, and they're out of luck.

[tech_crazy]

Woah Woah Woah! Wait, this company trademarked it long before, in 1996. Not only that, they just didn't register the trademark, but also had an actual product by the same name. And yet, Intel has the audacity to use it to describe their product line and to call it generic. By that same logic, even Windows is generic. Hell,. even Apple called their product the iPhone when the trademark is actually owned by Cisco!

I am glad Psion sued Intel and sent others cease-and-desist letters. I just hope they got a good amount by way of settlement.

I am generally against trolls patenting/trademarking obvious things and then suing others. This company was far from it. Go Psion!

[inachu]

I was an early adopter of Psion products as they were the coolest gadjets to have around and miss mine terribly as I accidently sat on it.

It had a wonderful LCD background that lit up greeen.
I wonder if Psion will ever make similar items again.