Psion Waives Right to Netbook Trademark Claim

Posted 06/01/2009 at 7:15am | by Paul Lilly

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For a minute there, we were worried that the 4,382 (number pulled out of a hat) times we used the term 'netbook' would come back and bite us in the rump. That is, if Psion got its way. Back in December 2008, a UK law firm representing Psion had begun sending out cease & desist letters to various websites demanding that the sites stop using the term, which Psion claims to have owned based on a pair of old notebooks it used to sell.

Then in March 2009, Psion filed a $1.2 billion countersuit against Intel over the alleged trademark, a move which probably earned the company a bit of jingle. Not anywhere near the full $1.2 billion, mind you, but Psion did announce today that it and Intel "have settled the trademark cancellation and infringement litigation brought in the Northen District of California relating to the 'netbook' trademark registration."

Psion said an "amicable agreement" had been reached in which the company has voluntarily agreed to withdraw all of its trademark registrations for the term 'netbook.' Furthermore, the company agreed to waive its rights against third parties for past, current, or future use of the term.

Exactly what that "amicable agreement" amounted to is anyone's guess.