Intel confirms end of Psion 'netbook' legal fight

Updated Intel and Psion Teklogix have settled their legal battle over the ownership of the word 'netbook', the chip giant has confirmed.

An Intel spokesman told Register Hardware this morning that the two companies have worked out their differences.

That said, details of the out-of-court agreement reached by the pair have not been made public and neither firm has yet said what the terms underpinning the deal are. Has or will money change hands? For now, the parties are not saying one way or t'other.

In a statement, Psion said it "will voluntarily withdraw all of its trademark registrations for ‘Netbook’". It also agreed to "waive all its rights against third-parties in respect of past, current or future use of the ‘Netbook’ term".

Neither side accepted liability, it added.

Psion previously contended the use of the word because it registered the 'Netbook' trademark in the US when it launched its handheld computer of the same name there in the late 1990s. Psion stopped manufacturing the machine in 2003, but said it's been selling the thing ever since, racking up revenues of $13,650 as of March this year, down from a peak of just over $2m in 2006.

Intel's stance has always been that not only is Psion trademark invalid - because the Netbook Pro hasn't been in production since 2003 - but also that the claim that the machine is still selling in the US is a fib. It has always admitted to using the word 'netbook' generically, but maintained it never used it as it would a trademark.

To this day, Psion's US website lists the Netbook Pro among the company's "Discontinued Products". ®