Hasbro sues Asus over Transformer Prime name
I don’t know what’s more amazing about this story, that Asus thought they would get away with it, or the comments from people saying they should. The “it’s a totally different product” excuse is bullshit. Asus are trying to cash in on the Transformers brand pure and simple. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just deluding themselves.
The other excuse is that no one would confuse the tablet computer with the transforming robot toy. Again, a stupid deluded excuse. This is nothing to do with confusing a product. It’s assuming an endorsement where none exists and it’s trying to capitalise on another company’s success without any kind of licensing deal.
What’s next? The Mickey Mouse? The Potter Magic Tablet? The Enterprise Trek Phone?
Should you be just allowed to rip off a franchise because it’s a different market? If you believe some of the nonsense being written defending Asus here, that seems to be what a lot of people believe. If that’s the case what’s the point of brand names at all? What’s the point in working hard to develop a brand in the first place?
