Dell challenges Psion's claim to Netbooks
Since the end of 2008, Psion has actively defended its copyright of the term netbook, with some success. Now Dell has issued court papers disputing the claim.
With its sales of Inspiron Mini 9, 10 and 12, Dell is effectively selling netbook devices without actually using the term "netbook" on its homepage. Nevertheless, Dell has started a Petition for Cancellation of Psion's trademark.
According to an article on PCPro, Psion declared before a court in 2006 that the company was continuing to market devices they called netbooks. Dell disputes this, and accuses Psion of making "false statements", thereby forfeiting Psion's claim to copyright of the term.
Dell obviously has a vested interest in the outcome of the petition. A new report by Laptopmag.com claims that Dell's netbook business is having considerable success. A third of purchases are Linux versions, and Dell is quite satisfied with the low return rates.
Issue 172/2015
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
Old Vulnerabilities Are Kept Alive Through Bad Configuration
HP's annual Cyber Risk report offers a bleak look at the state of IT.
-
Linus Torvalds Announces Linux 4.0
But what do the big numbers really mean?
-
Microsoft Frees CoreCLR
.NET Core execution engine is the basis for cross-platform .NET implementations.
-
New Trojan Attacks Linux Servers
The Xnote trojan hides itself on the target system and will launch a variety of attacks on command.
-
Cisco Releases Annual Security Report
Spammers go low-volume, and 90% of IE browsers are unpatched.
-
Zero Day Exploits Target Flash
Adobe scrambles to release patches for vulnerable Flash Player.
-
Intel Unveils Compute Stick
Four-inch-long computer on a stick lets you boot a full Linux system from any HDMI display device.
-
Obama Proposes Personal Data Notification Law
New statute would require companies to report break-ins to consumers.
-
TGXf Project Warns of File Transfer through Screen Pixels
Weird data transfer technique avoids all standard security measures.
-
Industry Giants Announce a Fix for the Password Mess
FIDO alliance declares the beginning of the end for old-style login authentication.