We had a feeling this might happen when Asus announced it would call its new Android-powered tablet the Transformer Prime. Now it"s apparently official: PaidContent.org reports that toy company Hasbro, makers of the Transformer action figure franchise, has filed a lawsuit against Asus for alleged trademark infrigement. The lawsuit was filed last week in a Los Angeles court.
Hasbro apparently believes that Asus" name for its new tablet, which just started shipping to some customers earlier this week, would cause some confusion with at least some consumers who might think that Hasbro is getting into the tablet business. In addition to the Transformer name, Prime could in theory be linked to Optimus Prime: the leader of the good guy Transformers, the Autobots.
Hasbro has also issued a statement saying:
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.
Hasbro is looking for damages from Asus as well as a injuction on selling the tablet itself. So far, Asus has yet to reply to the lawsuit.