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MS Asking Makers of 'Windows' Software To Rename
An anonymous reader writes "Today WebWereld is running a story (http://www.webwereld.nl/nieuws/13347.phtml) on Microsoft's attempts to stop other software makers from using 'Windows' in their names. Several software makers that are listed on the Lindows-list (http://www.lindows.com/lindows_home_list.php) have received a letter from Microsoft's lawyers. Basically Microsoft asks them to stop using the word 'Windows.' Windows Commander and Windows Spy have changed name as the result. Christian Ghisler (of Windows Commander) changed the name into Total Commander and Sureshot changed the name of Windows Spy into Farsighter.
Alexander Tchirkov of Windows Backup Wizard also received a letter from Microsoft, but he is not willing to change the name of his software, he tells WebWereld. 'I received a letter from attorneys Microsoft (SEED Intellectual Property Law Group) with the recommendation to change the program name into Backup Wizard for Windows(R).' Tchirkov says Windows is not a registered trademark in Russia."
It's either X, or the X Window System. XWindows is considered incorrect.
I assume you mean the X Window System. No S there.
If they had tried that before the Lindows case, they might have had a leg to stand on. But the judge's findings in that one do not bode well for MS. I'd say, stuff'em.
1. It's older (in trademark law, that's not as important as in patent law, but it is an issue) 2. "Windows" is not really distinctive (less than "X" is). Actually, that's the problem Microsoft has all the time: "Windows" is a normal english word, a search in the trademark-database of the EU lists 20 trademarks containing windows. One could even say, that "X-Windows" (BTW: What does the X stand for? uniX? Xor?) is a clear sign that "windows" was a commonly used word for a graphical user interface for computers long before MS registered the trademark. This would mean, that the trademark was erroneously registered and has to be deleted. To give another example: You cannot register "car" as a trademark for automobiles, because it's already a common word.
"The X Consortium requests that the following names be used when referring to this software:
- X
- X Window System
- X Version 11
- X Window System, Version 11
- X11
X Window System is a trademark of X Consortium, Inc."They seem pretty clear on the legal issues.
According to the Jargon File, it was so named because it was the successor of an earlier window system called "W".
Esli epei etot cumprenan, shris soa Sfaha.
Friday, November 29, 2002 - Microsoft has asked manufacturers of software with the name 'Windows' to choose a different name.
by Maarten Reijnders
This appears after a quick tour along the manufacturers of software listed on the lindows.com site. The makers of 'Windows Spy' and 'Windows Backup Wizard' received a letter from Microsoft's lawyers, as they confirmed to WebWereld.
Earlier, the maker of 'Windows Commander' had changed the name of its program into 'Total Commander'. He did so after having received a letter from Microsoft's lawyers.
The Russian maker of 'Windows Backup Wizard' decided not to conform to the request he received from Microsoft in July. Alexander Tchirkov of Windows Backup Wizard: "I received a letter of Microsoft's lawyers with the recommendation to change the name of my program into 'Backup Wizard for Windows(R)'."
"I am not planning to change the name of my program. But Christian Ghisler (maker of Windows Commander, MR) had already been forced to change the name of his software, so anything is possible", says Tchirkov who points out that Windows isn't a registered trademark in Russia.
Software manufacturer Sureshot, however, did decide to change the name of the program 'Windows Spy' into 'Farsighter'. "Microsoft appears to possess the term 'Windows'", Jon, of Sureshot, sighs.
Windows Commander, Windows Backup Wizard, and Windows Spy are mentioned on a list composed by the manufacturers of the Linux-based operating system Lindows. The company plans to use this list in a juridical procedure that Microsoft has started against Lindows.
Microsoft believes that 'Lindows' is too similar to 'Windows' and demands therefore that Lindows stops using that name. In March, the judge ruled that Lindows is allowed to use the name until the final decision of the court.
Since the list at Lindows.com was published, it appears that not only the names of Windows Commander and Windows Spy have been changed, but also the ones of Windows Network Booster and Windows Personalizer 2000. At least, the programs are no longer available at their original name at Download.com
Avantslash: low-bandwidth mobile slashdot.
Besides lots of thigs run on windows besides software. Windex runs on windows, bird shit runs on windows.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
As for whether or not Windows is a registered trademark in Russia or not, I have to say I'd be very, very surprised if it is not.
It's not even a trademark in the US.
It does not stand for anything. X comes after W which is what X's predecessor windowing system was called. The W window system was developed at Stanford. I do not know what W stood for if anything. It probably stood for window or windows.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It's not even a trademark in the US.
Really? You're sure about that, are you?
Word Mark WINDOWS
Goods and Services IC 009. US 038. G & S: computer programs and manuals sold as a unit; namely, graphical operating environment programs for microcomputers. FIRST USE: 19831018. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19831018
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 74090419
Filing Date August 20, 1990
Published for Opposition June 21, 1994
Registration Number 1872264
Registration Date January 10, 1995
Owner (REGISTRANT) Microsoft Corporation CORPORATION DELAWARE One Microsoft Way Redmond WASHINGTON 980526399
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Attorney of Record Richard W. Seed
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL-2(F)
Affidavit Text SECT 8 (6-YR).
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
Where I live (The Netherlands) trademarks that are words of a natural language are not protected in any way. Everybody can use windows, word, office, money the way they like. If it is listed in a dictionary it can be freely used. Almost all microsoft product use plain english words and are not protected.
All Microsoft is doing is running a bluff. Companies do this sort of thing all the time. For example when they give you an employment contract to sign they don't tell you that you can change the contract; they try to bluff you into signing it as it is.
If the companies back down Microsoft wins. If they go to court Microsoft will eventually fold - but only after it costs the other company a lot of money. Most companies fold because they can't afford the monetary hit; even though Microsoft hasn't got a legal leg to stand on, and has lost in court every time they have tried to enforce a trademark on the word "windows".
Guess what? Not everything in life is fair. Microsoft's behavior - if you don't recognize it - is exactly that of a school yard bully. They figure they can get away with it, and so far no court has been willing to give them a bloody enough nose to get them to stop.
Trademarks like ASPIRIN and ESCALATOR are no longer trademarks because people begun calling those types of products by their trademark. ESCALATOR could still be a real trademark if people were told to call it ESCALATOR BRAND moving stairway. Since people say WINDOWS when they mean OPERATING SYSTEM, Windows is generic like the court says! Remember, Asprin and Escalator used to dominate the whole market so NOT using their name was hard... But the terms died!
;) And if it doesn't, maybe the ruling stands that it is generic!
This is a HUGE win. I wonder if Microsoft will keep pursuing this to higher courts to be told that their trademark is still generic? That's a big risk, and they may or may not.
However, they are showing they are Enforcing their trademark, which is a good way to demonstrate that they care about the trademark. Still, they might fall to something else..
WHY????? Here's the scoop: If a court declares a trademark to be generic, then it is closer to its death.
It is very simple. Trademarks like ROLLERBLADE could go to genocide when people keep saying "I'm gonna go rollerblading." That's why ROLLERBLADE has been putting ads to remind consumers these are ROLLERBLADE BRAND In-Line Skates.
when people refer to those types of products by the trademark name
then it stands to become generic. I suspect the way it happens is through courts.... That's why I suspect Microsoft might not pursue the generic argument in higher courts
So, the term Windows is now generic. YOU CAN USE IT FREELY. Microsoft used the term Windows, which is like generic already especially in windowed operating systems. However, its biggest death is that Microsoft did not use the term "Windows Operating System."
A LOT of people talk about Windows when they should be saying "Operating System(s)". Hence, Windows IS generic like the court says. THATS Why the court said it's generic, not because Windows are real glass things in real life...
Cover your eyes and click this link!
Microsoft applied for a trademark on Windows, but in the Lindows case Judge Coughenour ruled that it was invalid:
"Lindows.com has presented sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption of validity of the Windows mark," Coughenour wrote. "It is necessary to emphasize that, at this nascent stage in the litigation, the court's determination that there are serious questions regarding whether Windows is a non-generic name and thus eligible for the protections of federal trademark law is not a conclusive finding that the trademark is invalid."
source.
Another informative summary of the same ruling on MS's preliminary injunction.
Yet another report, or, uh, bricolage, whatever.
Microsoft sure as shit didn't invent the word "windows", nor even its use in describing a GUI for a computer, nor even the concept of a windowing GUI.
These are all the listings I could find for the single word "Windows" that are registered to Microsoft.
Just from a cursory look at these, it would appear that the only way you could use "windows" in reference to a computer or electronic device without fear of a cease and desist letter from Microsoft would be to say, "If there weren't windows in my computer room, I would never see daylight."
Listing 1, Listing 2
Listing 3, Listing 4
Listing 5, Listing 6
Listing 7, Listing 8
Listing 9, Listing 10
Listing 11, Listing 12
Listing 13
~Philly
Saying that something is {some trademark} compatible isn't a problem. You can sell a Ford compatible wheel without Ford's permission. It is only if you try to claim or imply that you have Ford's approval or are in some way connected with the company that you could run into legal difficulties.
flossie
Write now. Defend liberty
"W" was chosen because it was the next letter after "V".
No kidding. "V" was the name of a research distributed operating system at Stanford at the time (mid-80s). Paul Asente thought he could improve upon its window system, so he called his new system "W". MIT later used this as the model for "X".
http://www.microsoft.com/trademarks/t-mark/winxp-G uide.htm
Do Not Say:
[Your Product Name] Windows xp
[Your Product Name] XP
Windows XP [Your Product Name]
hmm.....now I can't legally say that I have an Athlon XP(R) CPU...nice