Tiring, isn’t it? Since the Commodore debacle in the mid-1990s, there has been persistent civil war between rival factions who own various aspects of the company’s patents, trademarks, and general rights to what was once the golden boy of the home computer market.
It’s such a shame that so much of the last 30 years has been spent in and out of court with various entities, all trying to put each other out of business.
So when Christian Simpson, (aka YouTuner Peri Fractic) announced on the Tube a few weeks back that a new iteration of the original Commodore was in the process of being set up with him at the helm, alongside many Commodore names of yesteryear, our hearts said, yay, this would be great, but our heads were like -‘ there is no way this is going to fly that easily’.
And thus it has come to pass.
Italian Commodore revival brand Commodore Industries has been at this lark for the past few years, and a glance at the website sees statements about saving the brand and reviving its greatness. Here are a couple for example:
“The great Commodore is reborn with a group of Italian entrepreneurs, with the aim of bringing the historic brand to the fore once again.”
And:
“In the spirit of innovation and nostalgia, we embark on a thrilling mission to breathe new life into a classic: the iconic Commodore brand. Our mission is clear – to bring back the revered Commodore brand and reintroduce it to a new generation of enthusiasts and pioneers.”
It’s not a world away from Peri Fractic’s description of his new version of Commodore.
Commodore Industries mainly sells laptops and ultrabooks branded as Commodore, whereas Simpson’s Commodore is more focused on the original brand’s output – recently announcing a new version of the Commodore 64, for example. Having said that, Commodore Industries has also recently announced it has acquired the licence to The Bitmap Brothers’ Xenon, and has started development on Xenon 3.
Luigi Simonetti, however, the guy who heads up Commodore Industries, is insisting it is in fact they who have all the legal documentation proving they own the historic and original trademark, C= Flag and Commodore.
Sadly, this was always going to happen. It probably won’t even be the last time it happens (this month!).
Commodore Industries has released the following press release stating its position.
Have a read and make your own mind up, but once again, the people who Commodore meant the most to – the fans, seemingly have to get ready to watch another legal sideshow.
Commodore Industries press release in full
In recent days, there has been a lot of talk, perhaps too much, about the “reborn” Commodore brand. Some statements, made public and, in our opinion, inappropriate, have only served to create total confusion within the community, fuel controversy and call into question the work of those who, for over seven years now, have been legitimately using the brand in compliance with both current laws and market rules.
It is therefore believed that the time has come to intervene clearly, firmly and with documents in hand, in order to re-establish what represents the only objective truth of the facts, with the aim of protecting the name and activity of the company that I co-founded and represent (i.e. Commodore Industries S.r.l.) and, no less importantly, to protect the reputation of a team that now consists of more than 150 people, including employees, professionals and external collaborators, as well as the real and tangible value of the brand, built daily with great commitment and sacrifice.
The company ‘Commodore Industries S.r.l.’, through the undersigned administrator, is the legitimate owner of the historic and original trademark ‘C= Flag COMMODORE’, as well as the trademarks ‘COMMODORE ENGINEERING’, ‘COMMODORE SINAPSY’, ‘COMMODORE ACADEMY’ and ‘COMMODORE DIGITAL’, which were further developed during the course of the company’s activities, both nationally (Italy) and at European level. For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that, as of the date of publication of this press release, all the registrations mentioned have already been legally validated and certified by the competent bodies/authorities (UIBM for Italy and EUIPO for Europe), with the possibility for Commodore Industries S.r.l., where requested and justified, to provide proof of continuous use of the same over the last seven years. Finally, it should be noted that the process of the above-mentioned registrations was completed without any opposition from third parties, at least on legal grounds, and that no contrary measure has ever been issued that could prevent their use.
The above statement can be easily verified by third parties and the community, as national, European and international trademark databases are in the public domain.
Mr. Christian Simpson (alias ‘Peri Fractic’) recently made statements on his YouTube channel, at different times, which were picked up by numerous media outlets and various newspapers, aimed at undermining our position, claiming to have ‘bought Commodore’ and describing our use of the trademark as ‘illegitimate’.
None of the initiatives launched in the United States give Mr Simpson the right and/or power to cancel or revoke our legitimate rights to the above trademarks.
Such claims are not only legally unfounded, but also compromise the truth and unjustifiably discredit a business project that has invested time, resources and expertise in relaunching the Commodore brand in a modern and technologically advanced way.
Commodore Industries S.r.l. has decided not to produce retro computers (even though this could have been a nostalgic moment that many would have appreciated) purely for commercial and marketing reasons, and not, as many may mistakenly think, to spite the community that has used and loved Commodore products since childhood, just like myself and the other co-founders of our company. Instead, the business has deliberately, and in our opinion rightly, focused on the development of innovative software and hardware, in line with the brand’s original vision.
It is precisely because we care about the community that this press release has become necessary.
We reject, and will continue to firmly oppose, any attempt at delegitimization, intimidation or unfounded claims aimed at elevating the position of certain individuals through that powerful tool known as “disinformation”.
Commodore Industries S.r.l. has always been willing to collaborate with anyone who truly wants to enhance and promote the brand and what it has represented for all of us in the community. However, where necessary, we will be ready to protect our rights, before any authority, on the strength of the legal and substantive grounds that have been explained in detail in this press release.
Our goal remains the same: to continue to create real value for the brand and for the entire Commodore ecosystem. For this reason, we are ready to dialogue and collaborate with anyone who demonstrates, through their actions, a constructive spirit and respect for both the rules and the community.
#WeAreCommodore
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