Pensonic Holdings Berhad (stylized as PENSONIC) () is a

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n company that sells electrical appliances. It was founded by Chew Weng Khak in 1965 as a shop in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

selling electrical appliances trading under the name of Keat Radio Co. with Chew as a sole proprietor. In 1982, Chew started the Pensonic brand name to produce locally manufactured electrical appliances.

Dispute over name

In some markets,

Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...

has accused Pensonic of being a knockoff of former's through the similar brand name and affecting their market share, leading to lawsuits. Pensonic says that its the name was created by combining ''Penang'' and ''Sonic'' to mean the "sound of Penang". In 2008, Panasonic won an injunction against Pensonic in Singapore. In Sri Lanka, Pensonic successfully won a judgement to register its trademark in January 2009 against opposition by Panasonic. The judgment observed that Pensonic was previously registered in Malaysia, Japan, and many other countries without the objection of Panasonic.Judgment by D. M. Karunaratna, Director of Intellectual Properties on Application no. 99105

References

External links

Official website
{{Electronics industry in Malaysia, state=collapsed 1965 establishments in Malaysia Electronics companies of Malaysia Retail companies of Malaysia Electronics companies established in 1965 Retail companies established in 1965 Malaysian companies established in 1965 Companies listed on Bursa Malaysia Malaysian brands Radio manufacturers Companies based in George Town