Ears On

With so many new brandnames entering the flat-panel TV business, it's hard to keep track of them all. Would you know a Proton from a Protron? That's what seems to be worrying the Proton Electrical Industrial Co. of Taiwan, which has just filed a trademark-infringement suit against the Prosonic Consumer Group for marketing sets under the similar-sounding Protron brand. Proton has a 23-year pedigree as a high-end TV maker, is just re-entering the North American market with a line of LCD DTVs, and wants to avoid "confusion in the marketplace," says a press release. The name Proton is also used by numerous other companies, though not to sell TVs. The name Protron is also used by a computer-software company.

Meanwhile, a dispute over the name of Morel as a loudspeaker brand has come to an end. The company formerly known as Morel Acoustics USA has renamed itself Renaissance Audio Group, having already used Renaissance as a brandname for 16 of its 28 years. The better-known Israeli company, whose stylish products have been reviewed in our pages, will continue under the name Morel. That's an abbreviation of Mordechai Electroacoustics. Meir Mordechai founded the company 30 years ago and remains active in product design.