Microsoft Forces wxWindows To Rename

Peter Millerchip writes "Apparently Microsoft have forced wxWindows, the popular cross-platform C++ GUI library, to change its name to wxWidgets over the UK trademark of the seemingly generic word 'Windows.' Hot on the heels of the MikeRoweSoft.com incident, you have to wonder if their overactive legal team will be targetting double glazing manufacturers next?"

Comments

It's a better name anyway

[ObviousGuy]

Why associate with with Windows at all?

With a little more imagination I bet they could come up with an even better name than wxWidgets.

Re:It's a better name anyway

[TykeClone]

Because that's what they generate - program windows.

Re:It's a better name anyway

[10101001 10101001]

What would you expect in a portable Windowing system? The fact is, the concept of defining a 2D area defining a program's visible space as a window isn't something at all unique to MS Windows. Nor is MFC an original idea. It's just an extension of procedural into the OO world. Do you think X Window System should change its name too? Should Apple make sure all their docs do not use the word "window(s)" just in case? Should Open Office stop being made because there's MS Office?

Microsoft, probably as a result of marketing, decided to use the most colloquial name association it could fine for its products for the most part. The fact that they were a late comer to such markets only worsens their claim. If Microsoft wants to use a generic term to describe a product, they should be only able to trademark "Microsoft ". This all reminds me of an episode of Freakazoid where "Lord Bravery" tried to get a ton of people to rename their businesses because each had to chose a different name because of such widespread trademarks. "Lord Bravery" vs "Lord Bravery Bakery"...cause people are too stupid to tell one rescues people and the other makes muffins, so we should ban similar naming? Let's not even begin with the whole *Win* *Zip*. Double whammy there.

Phew, it's hot in here

[Ianoo]

I think I might have to open some wind^H^H^H^Hframed glass panes attached to hinges!

Seriously... this trademarking of generic words is just silly. Is someone going to trademark the word "The" next, so no company name can contain it?

This is retarded

[fredrikj]

I can actually understand the case against Lindows to some degree, because Lindows is a name that might confuse consumers. wxWindows, however, is a tool for developers. Developers developing applications for windowing environments, people who very well know the difference between Windows(tm) and a windowing user interface. Joe Avg will never encounter the name.

I guess X is next.

Re:This is retarded

[__past__]

You remember wrong. "X Windows" is incorrect, but so is "The X Windowing System". From the X manpage:

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

Re:This is retarded

[Craig Maloney]

Yes, but X is old enough that Microsoft might lose the trademark if they challenged it. :)

Re:This is retarded

[orthogonal]

I can actually understand the case against Lindows to some degree, because Lindows is a name that might confuse consumers. wxWindows, however, is a tool for developers.

You'd understand it better if the Slashdot headline were not misleading.

The Slashdot Headline reads (emphasis orthogonal's): "Microsoft Forces wxWindows To Rename", but the notice in the wxWidgets.org page says (emphasis orthogonal's) :

After a polite request from Microsoft, and a lot of thought on our part, we have decided to change the project's name to wxWidgets.... There will be modest financial compensation, of which the residue (after fees) will be used to fund library development and tools. Contributors can submit claims to Julian Smart to compensate for time lost because of the name change.

Now, this is not to claim that Microsoft didn't suggest they'd litigate if a voluntary change wasn't made; I'm sure that threat was at least implied, if not explicated. But the actual resolution has money going from MS-Windows to wxWidgets, not damages going from wxWindows to MS-Windows.

So if wxWidgets is willing to call it voluntary, I'm going to take wxWidgets at its word.

Prior Usage

[Ianoo]

You know, long before Microsoft ever created Windows, I remember both Macintosh and the other GUI systems being described as "WIMP", or "Windows, Icons, Mouse and Pointer" systems. Surely this use of Windows represents a clear prior usage of Microsoft's supposed trademark to describe what were very similar products? Can you still trademark terms that have been used before? IANAL, but it would seem like a pretty silly idea.

Re:Prior Usage

[Mr. Piddle]

Microsoft seems to be picking their battles poorly, lately. wxWindows, Xt (X Windows Toolkit), AWT (Java Abstract Window Toolkit), Sun's OpenWindows (still around to some extent), et. al. The only reason why they would single out wxWindows is that it is an interoperability toolkit, and we know just how much Microsoft loves interoperability.

Here's an open letter to Microsoft:

Dear Microsoft,

Fuck you.

Regards,
The Free Market, Life, Liberty, and Happiness.

Office next?

[Vincman]

...you have to wonder if their overactive legal team will be targetting double glazing manufacturers next?
Or Office for that matter! This whole discussion makes no sense whatsoever. Windows as a word does not infringe, unless it is accompanied by the word Microsoft.
It's like McDonalds sueing every fastfood-place in the world for using the words Milkshake or Hamburger.

Huh?

[Captain Rotundo]

What about X Windows? Thats clearly a common phrase (seeing as everyone says "X Windows" and the X people say its not "X Windows". What about the fact that wxWindows isn't even remotely a competing product with MS Windows. And the fact that people called multitasking GUIs windowing systems before microsoft came up with Windows.... I'm gonna go out on a linb and say thats why they called it Windows.

I think they are just upset they don't have a cool name like "Linux" "BSD" or "OS X" :)

You know your project is popular enough...

[ion_]

when Microsoft is going to sue you for its name.

Common Word Trade Marks

[KilobyteKnight]

Microsoft has a habit of using generic terms as names for its products then trademarking them. I believe it purposely done for anti-competitive reasons. Had they not been declared a monopoly, it probably wouldn't be a problem. However, they were... why aren't people filing complaints about them co-opting common words?

Mocrosoft's Naming System

What should we call our...
office suite: Office
the word processor in it: Word
disk operating system: DOS
windowing operatind system: Windows
flight simulator game: Flight Simulator
media player: Media Player

It makes you wonder if Bill Gates sues his neighbors for calling home their dog, "Come 'ere dog", since I'm sure that's what his dog is named.

They did it for the money

[magnum3065]

Hmmm, tough choice: get into a legal battle to keep the name "wxWindows" and spend a lot of money, or change to "wxWidgets" and get "modest financial compensation" from Microsoft?

The headline is misleading.

[Talonius]

I'd like to see the correspondence with Microsoft in this case. The wxWindows, er, wxWidgets team seemed to think it was a better idea to cooperate - forcing would be to actually sue them and deliver a, what was it, 75 page explanation?

The team would've won the trademark suit IMHO, but IANAL and the SCO case should've been about finance fraud a long time ago - so take my opinion with a grain of salt. In any case as a cross platform UI toolkit the name fits better.

As it is perhaps this took place as a polite exchange. Especially considering that the wxWidgets team had to know the groundswell of support they would have if Microsoft DID force the issue. There's nothing wrong with a company asking someone to do something; there's only something wrong with that when they sue someone to force them to do something that's inane.

Flamebait Disclaimer: I use Microsoft products as much in a day as I use Linux. I use what's best for the job at the time I need it done. I'm not screaming that people are being hypocrites; I'm saying that the situation might very well be completely different than what this article seems to assume.

The only time Microsoft will truly piss me off is when they decide to go after Mono. That will have me up in arms whether it's effective or not.

Re:The phrase `Windows` wasn't coined thus null

[TrevizeNet]

I believe a better analogy would be Escalator. I know I was in my late teens before I knew that an Escalator was at one time a trademark and not a name for a class of transportation devices.