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Ruling Clears Way For Lindows Trial

Posted by simoniker on from the not-big-deal-yet dept.

shystershep writes "Various sources are reporting that Microsoft's appeal in the Lindows trademark infringement suit was rejected by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. At issue was the trial judge's decision [PDF link] to 'instruct a jury to consider only whether 'windows' was a generic term before November 1985, when the first version of Microsoft's Windows was released.' This is significant because a generic mark receives no trademark protection, and the ruling that the jury must make that determination based only on the use of the term before 1985 is a major blow to Microsoft."

2 of 385 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What it all means by jdray · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When did the term "X-Windows" come into play? It seems to me that therein lies the root of a good legal standing on the subject.

    --
    The Spoon
    Updated 6/28/2011
  2. Microsoft is dead now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is a huge pile of evidence to show that the term windows was very much generic at the time MS pick it, THAT IS WHY THEY PICKED IT. They didn't pick it because they were trying to create some new brand (ala Nike, Sony, eBay, etc.), but rather, they chose the word windows because that had become the term to define an entire category of window manager type programs.

    With this latest ruling, which is now appeal proof, Lindows has the wooden stake to drive through MS' heart.

    This will be a fun trial to watch. Robertson, Gates and Ballmer are all scheduled to testify.