Hasta La Gadget!

Everyone knows that Samsung is making a big Windows 8 push at IFA, but there’s new signs emerging that it might shake up its naming scheme in the process. We now know through SamMobile that Samsung has quietly snapped up a pair of trademarks with the Ativ badge that would let its branding venture beyond the Galaxy. Ativ Tab is the most conspicuous: unless Samsung is planning a shakeup of its Android slates, there’s a distinct chance we’re looking at the future name for one or more Windows 8 tablets. Ativ S is slightly more nebulous, although that very familiar oversized S raises the possibility of a high-end Windows Phone 8 smartphone like the Odyssey. Whether or not Samsung wields these trademarks later this week, or at all in the near future, is still up in the air — it may be holding on to names as a precaution rather than previewing a course of action. If the Ativ label makes its way into stores, though, it may give Samsung a much catchier (if not entirely intuitive) name for its Windows devices than Series 5 Hybrid PC.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets

Samsung trademarks Ativ Tab and Ativ S names, may give a peek into its Windows (Phone) 8 world originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 22:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft confirmed today that it will indeed be ditching the Metro branding for Windows 8, and said it plans to introduce a new brand sometime later this week. We had a feeling that something like this was going to happen, thanks to this week’s leak of internal Microsoft memos which signaled such a change. Apparently, Microsoft’s decision to dump the branding comes from talks with “an important European partner” that left the company without much choice in the matter. To put it simply, Microsoft probably picked the term “Metro” without realizing that one its partners already held the trademark.

So, now Windows 8 will get a bit of new branding. Metro was the term Microsoft used to describe the design and feel of Windows 8 and Windows RT, and don’t expect the phrase to disappear overnight. Microsoft hit the ground running with this branding, mentioning the name Metro at every chance. Now that the term Metro has been used so much, it’s going to be incredibly hard for Microsoft to flush it from the minds of those who have been following the development of Windows 8.

ComputerWorld points out that the “important European partner” may be Germany-based Metro AG. The company is the fifth-largest retailer in the world, so it isn’t hard to imagine why it might be upset with Microsoft’s choice of branding in this instance. Neither company will confirm nor deny this speculation, and Microsoft says that this change was not brought on by litigation. If the two companies were at odds over the Metro brand, Microsoft seems to have diffused the situation before it ended up in a court room.

We won’t be waiting long for this new brand to arrive, as Microsoft’s announcement that it will be coming “this week” means that the company will be revealing it either later today or tomorrow. Once this new brand arrives, expect Microsoft to begin using it as much as humanly possible. We’ll have details on this new brand for you once Microsoft makes its announcement, so keep it tuned right here to SlashGear.

Microsoft officially leaving Windows 8 Metro brand in the dust is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If Reality Fighter for the PS Vita was a game you enjoyed, or thought had a huge amount of potential, then you might be interested to learn that Sony has registered a trademark for a game called “Reality Racer” in Japan. Assuming they’re keeping to the “Reality” series of gaming, we could be looking at another augmented reality racing game for the PlayStation Vita. We have no idea what to expect at this point in time, but if you’ve ever played Reality Fighter, then you should probably have an inkling of what to expect. No word from Sony yet regarding the game, but we expect that more details should be made available later into the future, so if this sounds like a game you wouldn’t mind checking out, be sure to stay tuned and check back with us regularly for more updates!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: LittleBigPlanet Vita: new trailer surfaces, Kart beta reopen for Plus subscribers, Upcoming PlayStation Vita firmware update brings PSOne support,

Apple finally settled the iPad trademark case in mainland China, paying Proview $60 million to put the issue to rest. Now it looks like Cupertino will be coming under fire from another target: a Chinese chemical company is suing Apple over a Snow Leopard trademark. Jiangsu Xuebao claims to have filed the electrical equipment trademark protection back in 2000.

Jiangsu Xuebao creates household cleaning products and trademarked the word “Xuebao”, which translates to Snow Leopard. As a result, the company believes that Apple is violating its trademark with OS X Snow Leopard sales in China. A court in Shanghai has accepted the case, and an initial hearing will take place on July 10th.

While Proview was originally seeking a $1.6 billion settlement, Jiangsu Xuebao’s claims aren’t quite so bold. The company is seeking CNY 500,000 (~$78,700) in damages as well as an official apology from Apple. On top of that, Jiangsu Xuebao has sued four companies that sell OS X Snow Leopard, but one Chinese lawyer believes the company won’t win the case because Apple isn’t using the Chinese word to sell its product.

[via MICGadget]

Apple sued in China over Snow Leopard trademark is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Earlier this year, iPads were flying off the shelves in China — but not for the expected reasons. The slates were being removed from stores following an injunction granted to Shenzhen Proview Technology, a local firm that had laid claim to the iPad trademark. The injunction would later be rebuffed by a Shanghai court, resuming tablet sales while the dispute raged on. Today, Apple and Proview have come to a resolution, putting $60 million in Proview’s coffers and the matter to rest.

Feeling lost? Let us catch you up. Way back at the turn of the century, Proview’s Taiwan branch registered the “iPad” trademark for its Internet Personal Access Device — an all-in-one PC that wasn’t unlike Apple’s own iMac. Later on, Apple would purchase the worldwide rights to the name from the Taiwan branch, which presumably included Shenzhen Proview Technology’s claim — though the Chinese vice minister for the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) would later declare Proview the trademark’s rightful owner. Fast forward to today, and the two firms are finally settling.

According to The New York Times, Proview had originally sought as much as $400 million, but has agreed to settle for a lesser amount to help it pay its debts. Either way, Apple seems to have already transferred the sum, according to the Guangdong High People’s Court, apparently eager to put the dispute behind them.

Apple pays $60 million in iPad trademark dispute, makes peace with Proview originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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