Qualcomm forbidden to use "smartbook" by order of German court
And so it goes. In similar fashion to the psion "netbook" debacle, the German entity of Qualcomm was just hit with a restraining order for its use of the term "smartbook" as followup to the smackdown issued on a German blogging site over the weekend. The preliminary injunction issued by a German court comes at the request of Germany-based Smartbook AG that claims it is being confronted with an "absurd" and "bold attack" on its brand name. The decision calls for a €250,000 fine in case of non-compliance with risk of arrest for contempt. Really Smartbook AG, arrest? We imagine a number of vendors are frantically scribbling out the term "smartbook" from its placards that will be on display at the big IFA show in Berlin later this week.
