Judgement day for Transformers

Asus allowed to continue using Transformer Prime name, after

At last, Sneak has found evidence that the judiciary really is down with the kids. In Hasbro versus Asus, it's round one to the gadget maker, after a judge used his in-depth knowledge of Autobots and Decepticons to swat away the toymaker's claims.

Hasbro had wanted a preliminary injunction, which could have seen Asus banned from flogging its Android-based tablets. Thankfully for gadget-loving Yanks, the judge had never tuned into Cartoon Network expecting to see 30 minutes of a tablet docking with a keyboard - and reasoned most consumers would know which Transformer Prime was which.

"The Autobots are led by the virtuous Optimus Prime character, while the Decepticons follow the powerful Megatron," the judge told the court.

Nevertheless, Optimus Prime and his cohorts are not so easily defeated - a full trial will decide once and for all whether Asus can continue to use the Transformer name.

Hasbro is adamant that a scene from the latest Transformer movie provides the crux of its case against Asus. In it, an Autobot disguises itself as, what else, a Lenovo ThinkPad.

Sneak hasn't seen the movie, having given up on the franchise after the over-the-top explosions and lack of plot in the first two. But if Asus's next shape-shifting tablet is called Dark of the Moon, Sneak might concede Hasbro was on to something.