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According to Engadget Hasbro doesn't like ASUS calling their products Transformer Prime.

A quick quote:

"Hasbro still feels the need to "aggressively protect its brands and products" from illusory enemies, and it's fully prepared to threaten ASUS with a sales injunction until some sort of conciliatory gesture appears on its bank statement"

From: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/22/tran ... w-prefera/

It does seem a bit cheeky of ASUS to use that name.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Hasbro bashing much?

Come on, name any product "Transformer" and you're walking on poison-tipped glass shards.

What is "ASUS" mean,I asssume it's some kind of brand name or company name.

is this a joke rant or serious rant. the guy who wrote the rant failed to supply the much needed key info. all that link had in it was rant minus info.

their was no mention in that link info. what product the transformers prime was applied to & why the TF Prime got applied to it. their was no court hearing legal suing info.

Btw,R2-D2 is not a transformers,he's from starwars.

That is correct. Hasbro has taken legal action against computer company ASUS over their use of the name Transformer Prime. With all the potential intellectual property slights against parent company Hasbro, who would have thought it would be a computer that brings down the hammer? ASUS has named their converting laptop tablet PC Transformer Prime. Hasbro announced it will "aggressively protect its brands and products".

Theverge.com reported the action stating:"The toymaker is no doubt worried that the name could be confused with that of its Transformers franchise, not to mention Optimus Prime, the lead protagonist of the animation and film series... though we're not quite sure how a robot that transforms into a semi truck could be confused with a tablet and detachable keyboard. Perhaps Hasbro is worried that tablet buyers might see it as a licensed product."

Is this an indication that Hasbro feels companies are flying fast and loose with the Transformers brand? Check out these articles here and here and join the discussion already under way in the forums.

Here is a picture of the offender. Not what I would have guessed.

Ahh thanks, I was just looking up images and more info of the product in question.

there's a mobile phone here called "Optimus". wonder if they'll notice that?

Optimus seems to be used by a few companies. A quick google shows that Nvidia used it too. I doubt theres much can be done about that as its a latin word meaning one of the best, aristocrat, noble.

Asus had this project in development under this name for a while now. I don't think Hasbro is going to be able to win this one. And if they do, that's just bullshit. Asus is a great company, they make the motherboards I use for my CSM & high end builds. They have been a big name in the tech industry for a long time, Hasbro may have bitten off more than they can chew on this one.

I guess since Hasbro cant really go after 3rd parties, so this is the next big thing? or is Hasbro hard up for money?

I admit ASUS naming is kind of confusing but Hasbro's action is way too late. IIRC, shouldn't this tablet be in the market already but got delayed due to some hardware issues?