Comments on: jkOnTheRun Op-Ed: the Psion netbook trademark situation

By: Vip Amin

Vip Amin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:54:24 +0000

I have recently acquired a Psion Netbook Pro. Psion’s support for this device does not exist! Frankly, I have written off my investment after my third week of struggle and countless hours of searching for help – Psion provides no support and it is clear that their ongoing investment in Netbook (satisfied customers)- post launch – amount to ZERO! Why then should they be entitled to hold the trademark? Psion, may I suggest that you simply surrender it to another organisation willing to support users and develop the platform – else, give it up and stop the hype, please!

By: KPB

KPB — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:51:33 +0000

ATOMBOOK

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:25:45 +0000

Psion can kiss my netbook. You cannot sit for over a year, let the term become generic and then cry foul.

They have been named netbooks by the general public and much like Escalator Company of the past, Psion is out of luck.

By: Marcus Newton

Marcus Newton — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:56:25 +0000

So obviously they(Psion) are going to target companies like my start-up called ThinkNetbook as it is a infringement on the trademark right?

Or could I get away with never using the term “netbook” on my site and just use ThinkNetbook as my company name?

I will be a retailer selling Netbooks (I refuse to call them anything else — the term is cool)

Much cooler than mini-notebook — what a mouthful!
-Marcus

By: Ernie

Ernie — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:57:52 +0000

Let’s call them an Ibook or Ebook.

Let’s get real personal.”Mybook” or “Mibook”

I own 2 and they don’t care what I call it.
They still love me and work everytime.

By: Decade

Decade — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:50:39 +0000

I call my Nokia Internet tablet a “tiny computer” or “Internet tablet thing.” I know, I’m hideously uncool.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:28:20 +0000

Actually, Alex, you are correct, and Woadan, you are incorrect. This has little to do with the discussion going on here, but as an IP attorney I feel it important to correct the record. Intellectual Property (IP) is property developed by your intellect (i.e., developed in your mind) and is thus intangible until reduced to some tangible form (a patent, a trademark registration, a copyright registration, etc). Trademarks are indeed IP. Do a little research on your own and you will verify that what I am asaying is correct.

There – now I feel better. ;)

By: Alex Whiteside

Alex Whiteside — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:43:23 +0000

You’re right, Woadan, they’re not IP. I clutched for the wrong term. I’d agree that they probably left it too late. It’s easier to imagine them making a convincing case before everyone and their dog was using “netbook” for other products. It’s a good lesson in why companies push to stop genericisation!

By: Oliver

Oliver — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:51:41 +0000

Wow, I didn’t know so many lawyers and legal scholars (and Holiday Inn Express guests) are frequenting jkOnTheRun… :)

By: RalfM

RalfM — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:34:59 +0000

Levi, I believe you are so close… this holiday season is actually called bloggers’ season by many web 2.0 marketeers… the release date of the C&D letters is chosen wisely… its content however is ludicrous… and distribution by e-mail is error prone as spam filters might trash it. How to say whether one has been notified or not?

I got more to say on the issue, as I and many others used the term years before to the release of Psion’s netBook in 1999. Read about it in a day or two on http://www.psionnetbook.com.