In a completely expected move (honestly, who didn't see this coming?) Hasbro has filed a lawsuit with the LA federal court against ASUS for using the name 'Transformer Prime' in its new premium tablet device without prior consent.
The firm claims that the name comes too close to the Transformers franchise, as the tablet now, unlike its predecessor, also includes the word 'Prime', creating a link to the popular transformers figurehead, Optimus Prime. We're unsure as to which way this case may go, the tablet manufacturing industry is one distinctly different from an industry Hasbro has yet to step into and as such ASUS should be protected against trademark infringement, however, Hasbro has released games and products for mobiles before and the Transformers franchise is currently seeing rapid growth thanks to the recent string of Transformers movies providing, perhaps, the leverage required to win recognition of trademark protection over a wider range of products.
There's no doubt that ASUS is playing to the success of the Transformers franchise, though perhaps the firm will feign ignorance, after all, its tablet does transform and both the hardware and the pricing are indeed what one could call prime. Then again the company's track record for walking the trademark tightrope speaks for itself, most notably a string of painful YouTube parody videos leading up to the UK release of the original Transformer tablet, attempting to ride on the success of hit TV show 'The Big Bang Theory'. Hasbro is seeking both damages and a temporary injunction, perhaps wiping the grin off the face of ASUS stemming from its evil genius in devising such an excellent name for its new tablet, as an injunction could potentially halt the firm's plans to beat Apple's iPad 3 to the US market.
