Enterprise
ASUS is banned from using ‘ZenFone’ branding in India
As ruled by a court
Much like most companies, ASUS identifies itself with one brand — the Zen lineup. Throughout the years, the Taiwanese company has released dozens of ZenFones and ZenBooks. With all the experience, ASUS has made Zen its own identity.
Naturally, if you take Zen away, ASUS is in for a marketing nightmare. Unfortunately, an obscure Indian smartphone maker is doing just that. Recently, the India-based Telecare Network has sued ASUS for using Zen as part of the latter’s branding.
According to the court case, Telecare Network has owned “Zen” and “Zen Mobile” since 2008. On their official website, Zen Mobile sells a good number of smartphones and feature phones. The site even advertises their aftermarket service as “Zen Care,” similar to ASUS’ own service. Regardless, ASUS’ usage came second. In comparison, ASUS started using “Zen” in 2014.
Of course, ASUS grew so much bigger than the Indian smartphone brand. Despite the presence of more competitive brands, ASUS is still a global player. Telecare Network’s move is a strategic one. The Indian company accuses ASUS of malicious intent in adopting the “Zen” branding.
In its defense, ASUS claims the universality of the Zen philosophy. Asustek chairman Jonney Shih drew a lot of inspiration from the Buddhist concept. ASUS’ defense hinges on “Zen” as a usable name in the public domain. The company defends that no one can claim exclusivity on the concept.
To ASUS’ chagrin, Indian courts did not see it that way. According to the courts, while the concept is universal as a Buddhist teaching, “Zen” is still an ownable property in the tech industry. Hence, the brand’s defense holds no ground. Moreover, the court can prove that Zen Mobile used the “Zen” branding way before ASUS.
As such, the court has banned ASUS from “selling, offering, and advertising” any devices carrying the “Zen” branding. The ban will take effect after eight weeks (or around the end of July). Further, both parties will have a second hearing on July 10.
Of course, the ban comes from India. However, India remains one of the world’s richest smartphone markets. This decision will likely have wide-reaching repercussions in the future. At the very least, ASUS needs a name change in India. If ASUS fails to defend itself, expect a whole new branding scheme.
SEE ALSO: ZenFone 6 is the best-rated phone for selfies on DxOMark
Enterprise
AMD poised to lead agentic AI era with high-performance CPUs
AMD is prepared to lead the industry in its agentic AI era with their high-performance CPU strategy.
As the industry pivots from simple AI models to agentic AI systems that are capable of independent planning and decision-making, the CPU is reclaiming its role as the critical “head coach” of the data center.
This was noted by AMD CEO and Chair Dr. Lisa Su during the AMD Advancing AI event last year. The rise of autonomous agents has transformed inference into a complex and multi-step workflow that demands sophisticated logic and orchestration.
And while high-performance GPUs are necessary to generate insights in real time, the surrounding infrastructure is just as important.
This is where CPUs enter the picture. Their performance and efficiency are more important than ever in the overall performance of modern AI infrastructure.
And AMD delivers an advantage with their offerings. In recently published data, a 5th Gen AMD EPYC CPU-based system is estimated to perform up to 2.1x better per core against an NVIDIA Grace Superchip-based system.
The same system AMD-based system also delivers up to 2.26x uplift on SPECpower, measuring operations per watt.
The x86 CPU architecture gives customers the advantage of a broad, proven software ecosystem that can run existing workloads natively.
This avoids the costly refactoring and code-base duplication often required when switching to Arm-based alternatives.
Looking ahead, AMD is doubling down on the balanced system philosophy. Future architectures such as the “Venice” CPUs will power the “Helios” rack-scale AI design.
By integrating EPYC CPUs with Instinct GPUs and the ROCm software stack, AMD aims to maximize cluster-level performance and lower the total cost of ownership in the agentic era.
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? After a year of wrestling through tariffs from the current American administration, Nintendo has decided to sue the United States.
Last year, the Trump administration was trigger-happy with implement tariffs on countries everywhere. Though the controversy mostly circulated around geopolitics, major corporations also found themselves on the receiving end of Trump’s ire. All over the world, the tariffs sparked product delays and price hikes.
Nintendo is no exception. As a result of the fiasco, the company had to delay the launch of the Switch 2, in anticipation of disruptions caused by the tariffs. First reported by Aftermath, the Japanese gaming giant is now going after the American government over refunds associated with the tariffs.
Now, the tariffs aren’t a big issue anymore. Notably, the Supreme Court scratched off the White House’s implementations that the former found illegal. While a big sigh of relief for future business, corporations like Nintendo have already paid duties and deposits in the past. As a result, Nintendo is now looking for recompense for what they paid before.
Nintendo isn’t the first company to seek restitution over the illegal tariffs. Others, including FedEx and Revlon, are also asking for refunds. However, the Japanese giant is certainly one of the biggest names to cross the government’s path. After all, the company is notoriously litigious over anything it considers as an affront to its business, including small streamers using Pokémon on their broadcasts.
With all its global resources, Nintendo likely won’t just give up without a fight.
SEE ALSO: The Nintendo Switch is now Nintendo’s best-selling console ever
Enterprise
Paramount wins bid for HBO Max, plans to merge streaming apps
It’s all part of the deal to acquire the Warner Bros. library.
Last year ended with the bombshell announcement that Netflix might buy the entire Warner Bros. library. However, after some finagling and a rocky start, Paramount has now emerged as the main suitor for the lucrative library.
At the end of last year, it seemed all but confirmed that the gigantic Warner Bros. library was coming to Netflix as part of a huge buyout deal. This became even clearer when Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount’s initial bid to counter Netflix. However, Paramount recently revised its offer to an astounding US$ 110 billion, or US$ 31 per share, which Warner Bros. Discovery signed off on. Netflix passed on the opportunity for a counteroffer, making Paramount the sole bidder.
Today, Paramount has announced that, if the deal pushes through, they will merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into one streaming service. This means that Paramount’s CBS, Comedy Central, and MTV will be under the same roof as DC, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and Mission: Impossible.
The value of the above names alone makes this into one of the most lucrative deals for Paramount. However, it’s not without its drawbacks. The combined entity will reportedly carry US$ 79 billion in net debt for both purchasing Warner Bros. and refinancing the newly purchased property.
Currently, the deal is expected to go through regulatory approval ending in the second half of 2026.
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