Technabob » lawsuit http://technabob.com/blog Cool Gadgets, Gizmos, Games and Weird Science Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:30:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Transformers v. Transformers: Hasbro Sues Asus Over Transformer Prime Name http://technabob.com/blog/2011/12/24/hasbro-sues-asus-transformer-prime/ http://technabob.com/blog/2011/12/24/hasbro-sues-asus-transformer-prime/#comments Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:00:08 +0000 Conner Flynn http://technabob.com/blog/?p=77987 Transformers brand, and they are now suing Asus over the name of its latest tablet, the Transformer Prime, which clearly has nothing to do with the franchise. Crappy movies are okay, just don’t use two words in the English dictionary that we have previously used, because we …]]> Hasbro owns the Transformers brand, and they are now suing Asus over the name of its latest tablet, the Transformer Prime, which clearly has nothing to do with the franchise. Crappy movies are okay, just don’t use two words in the English dictionary that we have previously used, because we own those words. And kindly refer to all flying yellow and black stinging insects as something else Bumblebee is only a cool car, which also belongs to us (and Chevrolet.)

transformer v transformer
Hasbro filed the superfluous lawsuit last week, saying that the tablet’s name is too similar to its Transformers brand. It wants damages and a temporary injunction on the device, while sane and level-headed people just want Hasbro to shut up and churn out toys for the holidays.

Forget the fact that Transformers toys these days are pretty low quality and unimaginative too. I guess they would rather spend their time suing over something silly than offering a quality product, or insisting on a decent movie from their licensees. Merry Christmas from the folks at Hasbro.

I’m not really a big Transformers fan, but I think this is just stupid. What do you guys think? Is Asus really in the wrong here?

[via Geek.com]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2011/12/24/hasbro-sues-asus-transformer-prime/feed/ 9 Vivid vs. Vivid: Porn Studio Vivid Not Happy About HTC Vivid Smartphone http://technabob.com/blog/2011/11/17/vivid-vs-vivid/ http://technabob.com/blog/2011/11/17/vivid-vs-vivid/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:05:37 +0000 Conner Flynn http://technabob.com/blog/?p=73800 Adult entertainment company Vivid Entertainment is not happy with the announcement of HTC’s new smartphone, the HTC Vivid. It’s the name that they object too. Not that anyone would confuse the latest smartphone with the kind of low budget spank-o-rama adventure that they produce.

htc vivid
Vivid Entertainment sent a cease and desist letter to the Taiwanese manufacturer this week, which claims that the branding of the HTC Vivid will confuse customers into thinking that it’s affiliated with the porn studio. I’m not sure why that would be the case, unless the HTC Vivid vibrates so hard as to grind against your hand (or your nightstand) and expel a money shot when you get a call, all the while moaning. If that’s the case, they may have a point, and you’ll also be needing extra tissues with the HTC Vivid. And it will probably need to rest after that, so don’t expect another call anytime soon, unless HTC releases some kind of fluffer accessory. This is just another company being over-protective of its brand, with an inflated ego and an equally inflated sense of power.

Anyway, Vivid’s lawyers are threatening to take the case to court if HTC doesn’t agree to change the phone’s name. Vivid versus Vivid and they’re livid!

[via TechCrunch via Geek]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2011/11/17/vivid-vs-vivid/feed/ 0 Barnes & Noble Settles Patent Suit with Spring Design Over Nook http://technabob.com/blog/2011/03/03/barnes-noble-settles-nook-patent-suit/ http://technabob.com/blog/2011/03/03/barnes-noble-settles-nook-patent-suit/#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:21:44 +0000 Shane McGlaun http://technabob.com/blog/?p=50644 Patent suits are a very common annoyance in the tech world. Back in 2009, Spring Design filed suit against Barnes & Noble after B&N trotted out the Nook eReader with a similar dual-screen design. The Nook sells very well for B&N so they were fighting the suit with all they could.

nook ve ereader

The suit alleged that B&N had stolen the design of the Nook from the Alex eReader that Spring Design showed to B&N people in an effort to secure a deal for the reader. B&N has now settled the suit with Spring Design and all charges have been dropped.

The exact terms of the settlement aren’t known. What we do know is that the settlement netted B&N “non-exclusive, paid-up royalty-free license” for all of the patents and patent applications that Spring Design owns. Spring is at work on a next generation eReader design. I wonder if B&N will get to see this one.

[via TechCrunch]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2011/03/03/barnes-noble-settles-nook-patent-suit/feed/ 0 National Pork Board Threatens World Supply of Unicorn Meat http://technabob.com/blog/2010/06/23/national-pork-board-threatens-world-supply-of-unicorn-meat/ http://technabob.com/blog/2010/06/23/national-pork-board-threatens-world-supply-of-unicorn-meat/#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:22:30 +0000 Shane McGlaun http://technabob.com/blog/?p=35237 The Other White Meat…. Apparently, the legal firm retained by the National Pork Board, Faegre & Benson, has zero sense of humor and taken offense to a fake product ThinkGeek has on their website. The product in question is Canned Unicorn]]> We all know the slogan for pork – The Other White Meat. Apparently, the legal firm retained by the National Pork Board, Faegre & Benson, has zero sense of humor and taken offense to a fake product ThinkGeek has on their website.

unicornmeat tb

The product in question is Canned Unicorn Meat. ThinkGeek listed the product along with a catchy slogan “Unicorn – the new white meat.” The National Pork Board didn’t like that. I bet they were equally pissed when Fat Bastard uttered “Baby – the other, other white meat… GET IN MY BELLAY!”

npbfax

The legal firm wants ThinkGeek to stop using the slogan immediately. ThinkGeek says that their usage is protected as parody. All I know is this cease and desist letter has to be one of the dumbest wastes of paper I have ever seen, and I read a few chapters of Twilight.

I’m not sure what would be worse, being the lawyer who had to send this letter or having your penis cut off in a freak Weed Eater accident.

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2010/06/23/national-pork-board-threatens-world-supply-of-unicorn-meat/feed/ 0 Google Executives Convicted of Privacy Violations in Italy http://technabob.com/blog/2010/02/24/google-executives-convicted-of-privacy-violations-in-italy/ http://technabob.com/blog/2010/02/24/google-executives-convicted-of-privacy-violations-in-italy/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:52:34 +0000 Lambert Varias http://technabob.com/blog/?p=28732 “an autistic student …]]> The Observer reports that today, in Italy, 3 Google executives were convicted of privacy violations and charged with three to six months of suspended sentence. The case revolved around a video that was uploaded on YouTube in 2006, shortly after Google acquired the service. The video showed “an autistic student in Turin being beaten and insulted by bullies at school. In the footage, the youth is being mistreated while one of the teenagers puts in a mock telephone call to Vivi Down.” Vivi Down is an advocacy group based in Italy for people with down syndrome; the group was the one which filed the case against Google.

Google Lawyered

Judge Oscar Magi (awesome last name btw) laid down the rule of the law on Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond, along with former CFO George Reyes, and Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer. Although none of them were involved in the uploading or production of the controversial video, the prosecutors claimed that Google should have noticed it and taken it down sooner because it quickly became one of the most popular videos at the time.

Google will of course appeal the decision, stating that it is a threat to “the principles of freedom on which the Internet was built.” My only question is, does Google even have the technology or manpower necessary to really screen the tens of thousands of videos uploaded to YouTube daily? I mean, do we even have the means to censor the massive content on the Web if we wanted to?

[via The Observer via Chip Chick]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2010/02/24/google-executives-convicted-of-privacy-violations-in-italy/feed/ 0 Apple and Cisco Kiss and Make Up http://technabob.com/blog/2007/02/21/apple-and-cisco-kiss-and-make-up/ http://technabob.com/blog/2007/02/21/apple-and-cisco-kiss-and-make-up/#comments Thu, 22 Feb 2007 05:00:04 +0000 Technabob http://technabob.com/blog/2007/02/21/apple-and-cisco-kiss-and-make-up/ cisco v appleApple and Cisco have been duking it out over the last few months over who rightfully possessed the right to use the moniker “iPhone.”

Tonight, the companies have jointly announced an agreement which will allow both companies to use the iPhone name on their own products.

No financial details were revealed, but all that we know is that all legal actions have been dropped by both parties. Apple and Cisco will also explore opportunities to collaborate on communication related projects in the future.

[via Reuters]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2007/02/21/apple-and-cisco-kiss-and-make-up/feed/ 0 Cisco Suing Apple Over iPhone Trademark http://technabob.com/blog/2007/01/10/cisco-suing-apple-over-iphone-trademark/ http://technabob.com/blog/2007/01/10/cisco-suing-apple-over-iphone-trademark/#comments Wed, 10 Jan 2007 23:38:00 +0000 Technabob http://technabob.com/blog/2007/01/10/cisco-suing-apple-over-iphone-trademark/ cisco v appleA few weeks back I told you about Cisco/Linksys’ new line of voice over IP products being marketed under the “iPhone” brand name. Well now that Apple has announced their hot new iPhone, it looks like they never completed the process of working out a deal with Cisco to use the name. Cisco has owned the trademark on “iPhone” since 2000.

According to this report over at CrunchGear, Apple had been in negotiations with Cisco to seek permission to use the iPhone brand name, but never finalized the agreement prior to yesterday’s public announcement at Macworld. Now, since the agreement was never executed, Cisco has filed a lawsuit against Apple, Inc. to prevent their use of the iPhone moniker.

Cisco claims they entered into good faith negotiations with Apple and is now seeking injunctive relief to prevent apple from using the Cisco’s trademark. I suppose they could always just rename it “Apple Phone” – that seemed to do the trick for their set top box. I’d assume the two companies will eventually make nice, but not without some big bucks exchanging hands (especially for the lawyers!)

[via Yahoo! Finance]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2007/01/10/cisco-suing-apple-over-iphone-trademark/feed/ 3 Apple to Pay $100 Million to Creative http://technabob.com/blog/2006/08/23/apple-to-pay-100-million-to-creative/ http://technabob.com/blog/2006/08/23/apple-to-pay-100-million-to-creative/#comments Wed, 23 Aug 2006 22:56:20 +0000 Technabob http://technabob.com/blog/2006/08/23/apple-to-pay-100-million-to-creative/ Apple and Creative Technology, Ltd.… today announced a broad settlement ending all legal disputes between the two companies. Apple will pay $100 million to license Creative’s patent in all Apple products. Apple can recoup a portion of its payment if Creative is successful in licensing this patent to others. In]]> apple creative resolvedApple and Creative Technology, Ltd. today announced a broad settlement ending all legal disputes between the two companies.

Apple will pay $100 million to license Creative’s patent in all Apple products. Apple can recoup a portion of its payment if Creative is successful in licensing this patent to others. In addition, the companies announced that Creative has joined Apple’s “Made for iPod” program and will be announcing their own iPod accessory products later this year.

Creative filed a lawsuit back in June, alleging that Apple’s popular iPod media players infringed on its patent for the system used to navigate and play music on its Zen media players.

Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative stated that the $100 million will result in approximately $0.85 in extra earnings per share in the current fiscal quarter. On news of the agreememt, Creative’s stock rose sharply (up about 33%) in after hours trading.

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