Frame
If you bought the original Framework laptop and want to upgrade the motherboard to the new version so you can take advantage of the extra performance of a 12th Gen Core CPU, the company doesn’t want you to throw away your old motherboard. To that end, Framework has designed and released an open source design for a 3D printable motherboard case, making it easy to reuse an old Framework motherboard as a makeshift mini desktop PC.
But Lenovo has objected to this case design, according to a legal complaint shared via Framework’s Twitter account yesterday. It involves the design of the case’s power button, pictured above, which looks like a circle or letter “O” segmented into three parts by straight lines. Lenovo’s legal team thinks that circle looks like the stylized “O” in Lenovo’s Legion brand logo. And they have a point, even though we don’t think it’s highly likely that people will confuse a gaming laptop from a major PC manufacturer and a cheap 3D-printed plastic case for a niche laptop motherboard.
Lenovo
Fortunately for Framework, the “broken O” that Lenovo is angry about doesn’t appear anywhere on the Framework laptop – it uses the company’s standard gear-shaped logo on the lid and keyboard, so Framework doesn’t need expensive changes or dump any components that already have money on it. has been issued.
To fix the problem, Framework is organizing a design competition for a new power button design. Nirav Patel, the company’s CEO, chooses his favorite design so that it can be made into a new case and posted to GitHub. The winner of the competition will receive the Core i5-1135G7 version of the first generation Framework Laptop motherboard. Just make sure the button design you submit doesn’t look like an apple with a bite out of it, an alien head, or three snakes tied together.
