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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.
That said, I'm glad to see the end of this as an issue... until Sunbean sues Linspire over their trademark
Sigs cause cancer.
I was hoping that Lindows would have went all the way to prove that the Windows trademark is too generic a term to be valid. Instead they take the easy option and go for the cash.
Although I guess you probably would find it difficult to refuse MS cash if you were a company.
Seriously, the linspire people are not the kinds of companies I, personally, would like to see carrying the Linux/OSS banner forward any more than I'd want to see claria be our standardbearer.
Hopefully after being forced to change their name will cause computer companies to consider bundling other "distributions" (if you deign call "lindows" a "distribution") such as mandrake or fedora wich are much more free (as in speech and as in beer), and who have not based their business model on a combination of selling free applications and having a name that sounds like 'windows'.
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.
I think the new name is a bit unlinspired.
MS sues and Linspire walks away with $20M to use against MS to make their product and Linux better.
Sweet!!!
20 million....
I think it's time to roll out a Gentoo based MS Windows look-a-like named Gindows.
- A s M -
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.
It seems that redirecting web domain will cause consumer confusion. Joe consumer who doesn't know any better will go to the Lindows site only to find Microsoft and then assume they are the same thing.
Know what? Arguments about how MS is trying to enforce an "overly broad Windows trademark" are now moot. The settlement shows that Microsoft is aware that they cannot force names like Lindows to stop just because of a similarity, but they ARE willing to pay out to keep a monopoly. And know what? That's damn fair.
ACs are modded -6. I don't read you, I don't mod you, I don't see you. Don't like it? Don't be a coward.
Due to this news I have decided to register the following domains:
c oms .como ws.comn dows.com
U indows.com
Aindows.com
Bindows.com
Cindows.com
Dindows.
Eindows.com
Findows.com
Gindows.com
Hindow
Iindows.com
Jindows.com
Kindows.com
Mind
Nindows.com
Oindows.com
Pindows.com
Qi
Rindows.com
Sindows.com
Tindows.com
Vindows.com
Xindows.com
Yindows.com
Zindows.com
I anxiously await 24 $20M checks.
-m
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# Modus Ponens
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So who want's to start Vindows, a layer on top of VMS that makes it more like Windows. We could even call it Vindows NT.
Seriously, with MS so close to losing their trademark, why not more people set up names similar to windows and cash in challenging them in court.
MS throw about their weight with trademarks way too often (MikeRoweSoft is a recent example), if I was called Bob I'd be scared that they'd sue me next.
The Andersen Company declined to comment on rumors that they were in negotiations with Microsoft to give up all right to the name of their product, formerly titled "Windows." They further refused to comment on speculation that their products would now be called "Wallholes." When asked how much cash they'd been offered by Redmond, the Andersen spokesman hung up on this reporter.
I think I'll go for VVindows,\^/indows and \/\/indows ;-)
Code, Hardware, stuff like that.
One, 20 million dollars is 1/3000th of their cash hoard. A movie ticket to someone making $250,000 a year salary.
Two, there was a real danger of losing their trademark on Windows as being generic.
Infuriate left and right
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!
You guys are happy that people can extort money from a company by naming their products something similar?
Whether you like it or not, whether its trademarkable or not, people associate 'Windows' with Microsoft Windows. Naming their product 'Lindows' was an attempt to be leach off of a brand name.
This is so obvious to anyone who isn't blinded by dumb hatred of anything Microsoft. If there was any OSS software that was popular amongst the novice computer-user masses, and MS named a competing product almost the same thing, there would be OSS bedwetter outcry galore.
This dishonest crap of changing one letter in a name, or naming it something very similar, or making the logo similar, has been going on for far too long; long before commerical computer programs. Its BS, no matter what medium its in. Don't applaud it.
Instead of playing off the *indows theme, maybe choose a name that plays off it, but is not directly related, like "Doors," or "Steps," or something.
...I dunno... sounds hokey.. but it sends subtle jabs to Windows without infringing directly on copyright..
It seems knock-offish I know, but imagine the advertising possibilities:
"Why look through a Window when you can walk through a Door"
or
"Make sure you take the right Steps to yada yada yada..."
This message was posted using recycled electrons.
Actually, MR has been in the trenches quite a bit.
He was one of the first people to try challenging Microsoft for the desktop head-on.
He managed to grab $20M in funding from Microsoft.
He funded the "run Linux on the XBox awards" that partly funded the practical breaking of the XBox DRM, which probably cost Microsoft quite a pretty penny in lost royalties.
MR may not be a nice person. He may not even be someone that you want associated with Linux. You could argue that he hits below the belt when he fights. But one thing you can't say is that he wasn't fighting against Microsoft, because he did, more so than just about anyone out there -- he walked up, challenged Microsoft, and has been steadily beating them, abeit with a thousand little stabs. He's managed to cut himself a nice little niche out of Windows market share while staying about as high-profile at Redmond as could possibly be imagined. He's one of those rare beasts -- a competent exec.
He's hardly sold out -- he now has a slightly changed product name (that personally, I find more appealing), a good chunk of money, plenty of publicity from the case, and based on what he's done so far, I expect that he'll do fine for himself.
May we never see th
"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.