Commodore Gaming disavows Commodore USA (and its decals)
Remember back in March, when Commodore USA CEO and longtime Commodore user Barry Altman excitedly told us about how he'd spent "the better part of a year" untangling the red tape, finally getting the rights to the Commodore name? As far as we are able to tell, Yeahronimo Media Ventures acquired the rights to the Commodore brand back in 2004, when it changed its name to Commodore International Corporation. Among its many projects are a joint venture with Amsterdam's Content Factory called -- you guessed it! -- Commodore Gaming. Today we received an email from Commodore Gaming's Global Product Manager Taco van Sambeek, informing us that Commodore USA has not been granted a license to use the Commodore name, and that "Commodore USA Ltd. has no legal rights to be using the Commodore trademark." When we went back to the old Commodore USA site, we found a few updates, including this line in the fine print:
In case you're curious, the company has also started shipping its "barebones and configured systems" (also known as the Cybernet all-in-one PC). But there's a catch! Your purchase, according to the site, "will not be branded with the Commodore logo or markings. These self-adhesive logo label plates will be shipped to you at no charge when they are available." Thanks for clearing that up. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to go order some Silicon Graphics decals to put on our Toshiba Satellite laptop.
