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Lindows Ordered To Stop Using Lindows Name
TheSpoom writes "InfoWorld reports that Lindows, a distribution of Linux and other software designed to emulate Windows, has been ordered to drop their name after Microsoft won a preliminary injunction yesterday from judges in Finland and Sweden."
How about the name Winix, or the OS formally named "Lindows",
The grass is only greener, if you don't take care of your own lawn.
...that it's just Finland, the cradle of Linux, where this happened...
-- Power corrupts, but PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.
I'm not sure, but I think this doesn't stop Lindows from selling it in the United States. The market for Lindows is greater in the US than outside of it, so this isn't as if the sky is falling.
Right?
-Cyc
/.'s 10 Millionth
i read an article on this earlier (dont remember if it was the one linked)
a spokesperson for Lindows says that the company was unaware of the suits filed by microsoft in Finland and Sweden. This means Lindows didnt have opportunity to defend themselves. IANAL, and certainly not one overseas, but who's job is it to inform a defendant of a lawsuit? The court? The plaintiff (MS in ths case)? or (remember this isnt the US) does MS simply have to make their argument for preliminary injunction without the judge being presented counter arguments?
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
In countries with WASPish legal systems, trademark laws only tend to protect against "similar" marks if they have the potential to create confusion. In continental Europe, they tend to protect where the newer mark attempts to capitalise on the goodwill of the earlier mark, even though there may be no prospect of confusion. Different underlying philosophies, different laws, different results.
Either way, though, I think Windows' case is pretty shaky. The underlying basis for trademark law is to prevent a company from confusing consumers and taking advantage of a competitor's goodwill. Unfortunately, the courts keep expanding it to ridiculous levels so that now a trademark is protected as intellectual property, instead of just to prevent unfair competition.
The bigotry of the nonbeliever is for me nearly as funny as the bigotry of the believer. - Albert Einstein
Not only is it a name, it's a generic word found in any dictionary. If they were to try using the name "L-OS/X" or "L-AIX" I could see where there would be a problem.
Trolling is a art,
You don't copyright a brand name, you trademark it. And yes, Microsoft has a trademark on "Windows".
How about changing the name to \/\/indows?(note, that's backslash, forward slash, backslash, forward slash)
mp3's are only for those with bad memories
The CEO/Founder of lindows is worth 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 USD.
Sorry, I don't donate money to people with 10's of millions in the bank.
Stop the Slashdot effect! Don't read the articles!
Parent deserves to be +5 Funny, but in all seriousness, I just bought someone one of those laptops with Lindows preloaded. Just in the hour or so I spent configuring the network, changing desktop settings, etc. using their modified KDE control center, the X server must have crashed 6 times, and once, the machine locked up hard and when it came back it never made it into X at all (there turned out to be a problem with their cups startup script that only manifested after the net was configured.) It took me back to 1994 when Linux was still a toy....
I recognize the place for distributions like Lindows (enough to spend money on it and even buy a lifetime CNR subscription at choicepc.com), but Robertson and the gang have very plainly taken the "ease of use over stability" route, and it's not a joke.
Microsoft's trademark is on the phrase "Microsoft Windows", not on the word "Windows" itself. Microsoft was specifically denied a trademark on the word "Windows" by itself because it is a generic word.
Therefore I can't see how the word "Lindows" infringes on the trademarked phrase "Microsoft Windows". By any common-sense standard, they would have to be using the phrase "Microsoft Lindows" to be infringing.
I think a reason that MS is having more success in Europe is language. Consider this: You wouldn't consider trademarking "The Road." It's... the frickin' road. But then say "El Camino," and at least we Americans who are old enough immediately think of a certain miniature pickup truck.
If you're in a country where English is a second or outright foreign language, "Windows" might thus seem to be more like something you could trademark. And "Lindows" might seem to be an obvious attempt to capitalize on the name, as if another car company had released a pickup truck called "Los Caminos."
No, no, no. Everyone who is talking about "common words" not being valid as trademarks is misled.
Common words make excellent trademarks, as long as they are not descriptive of the product.
Scope is a common word, and it a great trademark for mouthwash. It would not be a good trademark for a telescope.
Crest is a common word, and is a great trademark for toothpaste. It would not be a good trademark for a shield.
Walk into a supermarket: hundreds and hundreds of common words for product names, all good trademarks!
So...back to your question. Apple is a great trademark for a computer company. It is a generic word that has nothing to do with computers.
Windows however, is descriptive -- the word is a generic term for a GUI view -- and hence it may not be a good trademark. That is what we're about to find out in the US. Apparently Sweden thinks otherwise.