Judge Set To Rule On Windows Trademark Validity


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SAN DIEGO, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Lindows.com, Inc. announced today that it has submitted its final legal papers in support of its pending Motion for Summary Judgment on Genericness, challenging the validity of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) trademark. Now that both Lindows.com, Inc. and the Microsoft Corporation have completed their filings, the United States District Court in Seattle can address whether "windows" is a valid trademark.

The case began last December when Microsoft filed a trademark infringement suit and asked the Court to block Lindows.com from using its company name, Lindows.com, Inc. and its product name, LindowsOS. Two successive rulings denied Microsoft's requests for an injunction, and raised serious questions about whether the term "windows" is protectable. Now, nearly a year later, Lindows.com is in front of the same Judge, the Honorable John C. Coughenour, asking him to determine whether the "windows" trademark is, in fact, legally valid, or a generic computing term and therefore not eligible for trademark protection.

"We believe the indisputable historical record clearly demonstrates that the term 'windows' was generic when Microsoft first began using it in the early 1980s," said Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of Lindows.com, Inc. "We're hopeful, now that all the papers are in front of the Judge, that he will hand down a ruling which will allow us to get past these courtroom battles and allow us to focus exclusively on our goal of bringing choice to computer buyers."

Either a decision or an order setting a hearing date in the United States District Court in Seattle is expected in the next 30 days. A complete set of Lindows.com's filings can be found at www.lindows.com/opposition .

To stay apprised of all of Lindows.com activities, including low-cost computer announcements, visit http://www.lindows.com/mailing . About Lindows.com, Inc.

Lindows.com is a consumer company that brings choice to computer users. Lindows.com, Inc. was started by Michael Robertson, founder and former CEO of MP3.com. LindowsOS is a modern, affordable, easy-to-use operating system that allows users access to hundreds of applications via the Click-N-Run Warehouse, visit www.lindows.com/order to purchase the most recent version of LindowsOS. All applications in the Click-N-Run Warehouse ( www.lindows.com/warehouse ) are licensed on a per-person or family basis and can be downloaded, installed and run with just one-mouse click. LindowsOS is also available on LindowsOS Certified Computers being offered from Lindows.com Builder partners ( www.lindows.com/builders ). See where you can pick up a machine bundled with LindowsOS at http://www.lindows.com/featured .

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I can't see how you could have the exclusive rights to the name "Windows". That would be like me being awarded the rights to the word "chair" and then suing the businesses that use that word in any promotional stuff or products/furniture. Both Microsoft and Lindows are guilty of a lack of an imagination when it comes to words for calling their products.

Anyhow Lindows should win, though their company, company name, and product get a big thumbs down from me at the moment.

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You can't Copyright the word windows in itself, but perhaps the name windows as it relates to computer software and operating systems where Lindows is similar in that aspect and may be viewed as infringement.

The Judicial system is messed up. Whatever the most logical thing to happen is...won't.

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You can't Copyright the word windows in itself, but perhaps the name windows as it relates to computer software and operating systems where Lindows is similar in that aspect and may be viewed as infringement.

The Judicial system is messed up. Whatever the most logical thing to happen is...won't.

I was just thinking about that some more after I posted. They both make OSes... well Lindows doesn't exactly, they just plagiarize and stuff. Anyhow I still think MS made a mistake in picking such a generic term for an operating system. And Lindows just changed a letter for their name. Both are idiotic.

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oh you mean like Apple or Sun (although it's Sun Microsystems), ABC, You've Got mail????, the list goes on....this lawsuit is stupid. although the term is generic, there's nothing preventing somebody from using Windows from their product name as long as it's a completely different industry. that way a "smart" consumer wouldn't get confused by the name and the company wouldn't necessarily be trying to use the popular name to sell a similar product...i.e. Lindows

of course calling Lindows a similar product does a great disservice to Windows.

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oh you mean like Apple or Sun (although it's Sun Microsystems), ABC,   You've Got mail????, the list goes on....this lawsuit is stupid. although the term is generic, there's nothing preventing somebody from using Windows from their product name as long as it's a completely different industry. that way a "smart" consumer wouldn't get confused by the name and the company wouldn't necessarily be trying to use the popular name to sell a similar product...i.e. Lindows

of course calling Lindows a similar product does a great disservice to Windows.

:yes: amen brother :yes:

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You can't copyright the word Chair if you are going to use it to sell chairs, however Windows being used as a Computing term can be copyrighted because its not physical Windows its Windows in the computing sense. Windows was also thought up for the graphical "panes" that were created in the early years on Xerox systems. I suppose they called of called them "Slabs" or "Platforms" as you can see, they don't really catch on.

When MS put out "its" first GUI based on Windowing environment it also called it Windows unlike its hefty competition at the time IBM with Warp-OS (which was also further ahead in most areas)

Microsoft's 20+ year commitment to the name must account for something. If anyone is being "un-imaginative" its the Lindows camp for leeching onto an already successful term.

There are many more things you can call an OS its just a shame that most companies cant see past Microsoft when it comes to offering the consumer "choice"

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A lot of good points raised in this thread, it will be interesting to see the result.

Which got me to thinking about this scenario:

Square (now Square Enix) puts out a game called Final Fantasy. And I'm a competing company. I put out a game called Last Phantasy. Would they have a case against me? Sure "Final" and "Last" mean the same thing or very similar... and obviously Fantasy and Phantasy are the same...practically. Maybe my game is similar (an RPG) or an action game. Anyhow all this is giving me a headache. I'd hate to be that judge :p

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