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Microsoft and Lindows Settle Trademark Case
An anonymous reader writes "According to an official press release hosted over at Yahoo, Microsoft and Lindows have settled their trademark case, and have announced: 'Over the next few months Lindows will cease using the term Lindows and transition to Linspire globally as our company name and primary identifier for our operating system product.' Although it's claimed: 'Terms of the settlement are confidential', ZDNet has an article filling in more details, including the fact: 'Microsoft will pay upstart Linux seller Lindows $20 million... [so that Lindows] will give up the Lindows name and assign related Web domains to Microsoft.'" We've previously covered the Microsoft and Lindows conflict in some detail.
The ZDNET/C|net buggers barely scratched the surface.. Here's a link to the full text of the so called, Confidential Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release of Claims, dated as of July 16, 2004, by and between Microsoft Corporation and Lindows, Inc as filed with the SEC.
Microsoft forced wxWindows to change their name to wxWidgets. They didn't really have a strong case, but as an non-commercial project, the wxWidgets proejct didn't have the finances to contest it, either.
Microsoft offered some assistance in getting a hold of a new site for wxWidgets, as well as offsetting costs, but it was nothing along the lines of $20 Million.
So Microsoft has been going after other people in the "similar" namespace and using carrots and sticks to move them away from the Windows name. Generic or not, they are doing everything they can to ensure "Windows" is associated only with the Microsoft product.
So I have a question. Can Linus Torvalds sue Linspire for using the "Lin" part in its name? Wait. Bad idea. Because then Linus would have to pay Linspire $20 million!
And on the third hand, they get their name mentioned over and over again in the industry press.
There's no such thing as bad publicity.
Get off my lawn.
"selling free applications and having a name that sounds like 'windows'"
Ok, I'll bite. I don't use Lindows/Linspire but this post is incorrect.
1. Lindows sells a subscriptions service where they offer easy to install apps. This may not seem useful to you but it's very useful to a horde of people for whom installing software is too complex. They are selling "making it easy for you" not the free software.
2. Lindows doesn't represent the community and nobody would take seriously an attempt on their part to do so. They do however contribute to it. Recently, for example, they hired a fulltime mozilla developer. I'm also pretty sure they help finance/contribute to the development of some KDE apps. Additionally, they help pay for the bandwidth of the kdelook website.
3. Microsoft's rights to the word window are debatable at best. IMO owning the rights to the use of words in a specific context is a stupid idea that should never have been allowed.
4. I don't blame Lindows for taking the 20mil. It's not cheap fighting litigation all around the world and extra tough when you're trying to build a business at the same time. Especially when your opponent has bottomless pits of money.
Do not spread "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0" over the internet, thank you.
They claimed Windows compatibility (and poured money into the WINE project) prematurely, when it looked like it may be possible to actually accomplish it. Once it became clear that it wasn't going to happen, they did away with that marketing bullet-point.
Linspire also contributes heavily to a range of OSS projects, such as WINE, GAIM, Mozilla, NVu, Reiser4, etc. Xandros, on the other hand, doesn't (AFAIK).
Not to mention that they managed to do the unthinkable: get Linux into Wal-Mart and other mainstream places. They've gotten the topic a hell of a lot of press, too.
I'd say their distro may even come second to their bolstering of the "you don't have to settle for Windows" crowd.
WeRelate.org - wiki-based genealogy
So what if "windows" existed prior?
Then it is a generic word and you cannot remove a generic word from the language by trademarking it.
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- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
"I never got this argument. It always seemed like sour grapes to me. What's so generic about "Microsoft Windows XP" or "Microsoft Office 2003?""
There's nothing wrong with those names - it's the use of the words windows or office OUTSIDE the phrase incorporating the Microsoft name.
MS still seem to be setting themselves up for it - go here and check out all the use of the proper noun 'Office' without any off the 'Microsoft' or version qualifiers! That's where the issue has, does and will continue to lie.