CrunchPad is D.O.A.

TechCrunch has been working for more than a year on a simple but large, touchscreen device that could be used to “surf the Internet from your couch,” intended to be sold for a $300-or-less pricetag. Today, TC reports that all of their long efforts have gone up in smoke, due to a bizarre series of events that ultimately boil down to one thing: greed.

The CrunchPad was an ambitious, brilliantly obvious idea. Who wouldn’t want to have an easy-to-use, open source touchscreen pad with wireless connectivity and ease of use? Surf the net, watch video, play games, etc. The CrunchPad was poised to be a major competitor against Apple’s impending iPad device. But the dream has ended.

According to the story posted on TechCrunch, the CrunchPad was being designed by a small startup called Fusion Garage, which apparently turned on TC due to pressure from its shareholders. Fusion Garage basically attempted to shut TechCrunch out of the project that TC first conceived of, abruptly informing them that Fusion Garage would be releasing the product themselves. This, despite the fact that TC jointly owns the “CrunchPad” intellectual property along with Fusion Garage, and TC owns CrunchPad trademark alone.

It looks like the folks at TechCrunch are still scratching their heads in confusion over this attempted theft of intellectual property. The whole business is sure to be mired in lawsuits for a long time as the legal system sorts the mess out. There’s a lot more to this sordid tale — click here if you want to read it.

Image: TechCrunch.