How Psion Gave Up Ownership of Netbook

Google famously caved in to Psion a few weeks ago, agreeing that “netbook” is a copyrighted term that belongs to the hardware company. But other corporations like Dell and Intel, as well as grassroots campaigns like Save the Netbooks have insisted that “netbook” is already a generic term, unenforceable as a trademark.

Legal Basis for Psion’s Ownership

Granted, there is some basis for Psion to claim ownership of the term, since they applied for trademarks back in 1996, which were later made official in 1999. But for some reason, when the OLPC (one laptop per child) project announcement circulated in 2005, with commentators generically referring to the initiative’s product as a netbook, Psion remained silent. The silence continued as Asus launched the Eee PC in 2007.

Responsibility of the Trademark Owner

An important responsibility of trademark ownership is the diligent enforcement of it. A trademark owner should remain aware of anyone else attempting to use the trademark without permission, and express its displeasure through legal channels vigorously. This is standard practice, because the owner needs to build a track record proving that it’s serious about owning a trademark.

Psion remained quiet until December last year, when it started sending cease-and-demand letters to various parties, “including enthusiast sites”. Because of this relative three-year delay (one-year if you start counting from 2007)—while the term “netbook” entered the geeky public’s consciousness—Psion now seems to be waging this trademark war for the sole purpose of forcing royalty payments on other companies. Especially on those primarily responsible for the netbook’s widespread popularity today.

Psion: Now The Bad Guy

That may not be the case, but the situation has forced the bad guy label on Psion. In other words, the company has already lost even before it began. For this reason alone, it’s better for Psion to quit while it’s ahead. Because I definitely don’t want to drop the “netbook” category from this blog.