Hasta La Gadget!

A netbook by any other name would be…a miniature, low-powered notebook that isn’t worth starting a fuss over.

But
some blog sites devoted to covering netbooks claim they received a
cease-and-desist letter for using the word "netbook," reports mobile
device blog JkOnTheRun.

JkOnTheRun published an image purporting to be the letter, sent by a company
called Psion, who claims it trademarked the term netbook several years
ago.

"We note that you have recently started using the word netbook without Psion’s consent," the letter says.
"Psion places significant value on the trade mark registrations and
your use of the term ‘netbook’ could damage those registrations."

Hardware company Psion was indeed the first to use the word netbook in 2000 for a device
that was a cross between a personal digital assistant and a notebook.
It wasn’t until 2008 that Intel started branding subnotebooks as netbooks — to market them as portable computers
streamlined for internet surfing.

Brad Linder, owner of the netbook enthusiast blog Liliputing, told
Wired.com he has not received a cease-and-desist letter from Psion.

"I can maybe understand them going after web sites that have the word netbook
in the site title," Linder said. "But if they’re going after people for using netbook
improperly — I’m not a lawyer, but that seems weird, and I’m not sure how they
can enforce that."

Netbook enthusiast web sites getting C&D using term "netbook" [jKOnTheRun]

See Also:

• Tiny Notes Net Big Gains: The Netbook Revolution
• The Next Netbook Trend: Cellphone-Like Contract Deals
• Cheap, Easy-to-Mod NetBooks Are a Hacker’s Paradise

Photo: steve-chippy/Flickr