Nice one intel, yes free the "NETBOOK" but only if it uses the atom on your ageing old chipset, LOL you make me laugh.

I enjoy reading stories about rights being stripped from people/companies by bigger more lucrative companies... power to the... wait a minute that is exactly what I DON'T like...

Intel and Dell need to come up with some new term and whine elsewhere...

This time i actually agree with Dell and Intel.

The question is whether the term "netbook" becomes a legally descriptive word, making is no longer the property of the creator. Examples of this are aspirin, brassiere, cola, corn flakes, granola, kerosene, tabloid, thermos, trampoline, yo-yo and zipper.

There are companies which still hold their registered trademark, despite being commonly used to describe the product in general, such as Band-Aid, Breathalyzer, Coke, Dumpster, Frisbee, Hi-Liter, Kitty Litter, Laundromat, Ping-Pong, Popsicle, Post-it, Q-tip, Scotch Tape, Sheetrock, Styrofoam, Super glue, and Velcro.

The problem is that the legal trademark holder, Psion, currently has no intentions of marketing or manufacturing a product with the name "netbook."

I would require compensation for a name I have trademarked. Psion has asked these companies to stop using their legally trademarked name. If these companies want to use said name, pay. Everyone else gets paid, why shouldn't they?

How does Dell/Intel or anyone else know for a fact that Psion has no intentions of marketing or manufacturing a product with the name netbook? Has the company actually stated this?

According to this article,

"Nice one intel, yes free the "NETBOOK" but only if it uses the atom on your ageing old chipset, LOL you make me laugh."

Quoted for the truth.

Hmm, I am pretty sure in 1985 I used the term netbook in a paper written for typinc class. I am rpetty sure it was a typo, but I have documentation that can prove that I actually am the INVENTOR and thus own the rights to "netbook".

Please note, that I am now claiming to also have rights to the rpetty and typinc as trademarks of myself. Please remit all payments of large sums of money to me any time you accidently or purposfully use these words.

A Stoner - sorry, if you didn't register the trademark, your typinc it first means nothing.

Skine - at first I disagreed with the removal of the trademark, but your simple and logical argument has convinced me otherwise. Unless Psion demonstrates it is going to manufacture a product or product line using the term netbook, they should be stripped of the trademark - in my opinion without compensation.

Now, to file for the trademark typinc...

A simply search revealed a WikiPedia article about the Psion Netbook, released back on 2003 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Netbook). It seems to be that Psion IS utilizing this trademark. Just cause they haven't released a netbook this year doesn't mean they're trademark should be invalidated.

It looks to me like Psion was one of the first to enter the low-powered, portable Internet and Productivety device market, and that someone probably saw their Netbook, and used the term netbook to describe the similar products that were released in the last couple years. That's like saying "Kleenex" shouldn't be a trademark, just because everyone asks for a kleenex when they want a tissue. Or that Xerox should have to change their company name just cause everyone makes xerox copies instead of photo copies. I have to switch my opinion and side with Psion on this one.

My opinion on this subject is that the companies who want to use the term Netbook should have done this before release their products. Instead they released them and more than likely knew of the trademark and had chosen to violate it.

Should Psion lose its trademark? Sure if they have no plans on using it. But that doesn't excuse the actions of the others who didn't take the proper steps before hand to use the term netbook. Psion really should seek compensation of such actions.

Dell and Intel would have originally called it a "Pocket Book" but it was already taken... i'm sad to see that with all the money that Dell and Intel have, they cant pay one person to be creative and come up with a name??? what is this world comming to???

I cant wait to build computers and call them a "DELLS" and sell them on EBAY, see how they react...

so let me get this straight, the term "netbook" was trademarked by Psion, but they dont have any plans in the near future to use it, so that means they have to give it up???

That's like me saying that i bought a toaster, but if i dont use it, i have to GIVE it back??? to hell with that, it's mine, i'll paint it any color i want!!! DAMN THE MAN PEOPLE!!! START A REVOLUTION so that fat-cats do not bully people around!!!

As hellwig pointed out, they DID produce a Psion Netbook in 2003. They produced a product and trademarked the name BEFORE Dell or Intel decided they also wanted to use said name. What else would you have them do to protect their marketing name?

With a horribly broken patent/trademark system in the U.S. (an inventor actually got a PATENT on a 'time machine' based on junk physics that wouldn't even work) this may be a rare example of a company who is not sitting on registrations trying to just make money sueing people for using their name.

This might help out:

Not that I'm trying to take the side of the bigger corporations. I'm against Intel for how they're treating nvidia's ion chipset. But from a legal standpoint, it makes sense for them to challenge Psion's trademark.

I'm actually more glad that Dell and Intel are both challenging the trademark, in the case that one of them tried to take the trademark for themselves.

It does make sense that if you do not plan to use a trademark name, said trademark will be stripped.

If this did not happen there would be no terms/words left to use…. Everyone would trademark names just too maybe one day cash in.
It is not a bad idea for Intel and Dell to dump some cash into a kitty for a new name and advertising… They could make the term netbook irrelevant.

I am trade marking “Fugly”

If I remember correctly, Asus who made this market segment recently, did not use the term "netbook" in advertising. The term was more of a magazine loose term to describe what this type of system could be used for.

If I remember correctly, it was reviewed and commented it could fit well on the small coffee shop tables while drinking your latte....

Asus really marketed the small laptop as an EEE PC and now it will use the EEE name for a line of lower cost desktop and laptop computers coming down their pipeline.

So really, netbook term is the "Xerox and Kleenex" of today.

Reality is the proper term for these laptops should be Microbooks or Mini-Subnotebook. Although it is not as catchy as netbook, it seems to be the wrong term.

Most consumer believe "netbooks" are only good for Internet and email which is completely false. It run all applications very well with the exception of games and high cpu hungry applications.

Yeah intel... Make sure you can call the netbook a netbook... but don't worry about forcing it to be powered by your god-awful chipsets by suing away the competition.

I invented the word "woot!" No lie. All gamers please send me a check for each use of the word, as it is my intellectual property and my legal right to profit from my invention. Thank you.

How would Intel feel if another company started using Pentium in a generic way to describe their product. Just by saying that everyone uses "netbook" in a generic way doesn't make it so or legitimate. I know of several people who call all MP3 players ipod, regardless of the brand. But I don't see Creative or Sandisk using "ipod" in their promotions.
Apple would sue the crap out of them and win. It should be no different with Psion.

Psion hasn't made any plans to make a netbook. You should have read other comments before posting.