A California judge has denied toy maker Hasbro a temporary restraining order preventing the sale of Asus tablets that use the ‘Transformer Prime’ branding on their range of Eee Pads. The lawsuit was filed by Hasbro in December last year, claiming that Asus’ use of Transformer Prime was creating confusion by merging Hasbro’s “Transformers” and “Optimus Prime” trademarks.
In denying the request the judge ruled that Hasbro failed to prove that consumers would confuse Hasbro’s product line with that of Asus’, nor had they shown that the company would suffer “irreparable harm” should sales of the Transformer Prime continue.
“Having waited until the purportedly infringing and diluting tablets had been on the market for almost a year, the court sees no grounds for invoking the extraordinary and drastic remedy of preliminary relief that would reverse the status quo ante before the parties have had the opportunity to try the case on its merits.”
Source: CNET
