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Windows Vista Faces Lawsuits
WindozeSux writes "When tech company Vista discovered the title for the new Windows Operating System version, company founder John Wall was not amused. John Wall may take this to court because he knows of how protective Microsoft is over their trademarks. From the article: 'A Microsoft spokesman said the company chose Vista from a list developed by the Windows team, based on attributes of the new software. Among its primary selling points are new tools for searching and viewing the contents of a PC; communications features; and a lighter desktop appearance with transparent objects.'"
Sue for the name, or be sued I guess. Sounds like they have a case for the trademark being theirs as a name, but these cases always seem silly to me. Clearly "Windows Vista" is not the same as "Vista" the software company. It's doubtful anyone is going to confuse them.
On the other hand, you damn well bet if I happened to own a company by the name of the up-and-coming Windows OS, I would be making sure my name was EVERYWHERE right about the time the new OS came out. Hell, I'd even offer to sell them the name for $500 million or something, make it worth my time.
MS deserves to be sued for picking such an un-attractive name for an OS. :P
Windows 2000? Yeah, that works. XP? Sure. ME? Not great, but it is better than "Vista". How many people are going to actually know what "Vista" means, anyway? I'd put 20 on people thinking that the newest incarnation of Windows is some spanish distribution.
"Better to be vulgar than non-existent" -Bev Henson
The poster's nickname kind of kills the objectivity on this one.
I still think Microsoft should pay up for their mistake, but when someone with this kind of nickname posts about microsoft, its bound not to sound objective or credible.
Right now, the name can be changed without Microsoft caring too much. If it gets to release time, there is no way in hell Microsoft will change the name. They'll just throw lawyers at him until he gives in. If it doesn't work in the USA, they'll harass him in other countries.
Right now, he's got a clear advantage. If he makes every move to completely stop their use of the mark 'Vista' (as opposed to licensing it to them or something), then they'll probably change the name sharpish. But if he shows any sign of weakness, they'll just steamroller him into submission.
Does anyone think this will stop Microsoft from pulling similar stunts?
Stop them? It'll reinforce the value of pulling the stunt first.
Maybe because Microsoft doesn't care?
I'm very responsible, when ever something goes wrong they always say I'm responsible.
I see your point, and for the rest of the world, I think it applies. But Microsoft doesn't really have a solid track record of doing things the way other entities do. Instead, they've established an undeniable reputation of doing whatever the f*ck they want, no matter what anybody thinks about it. If anybody has a problem with 'em, Microsoft will happily take it to court and drag it out until you can't afford to fight it, or they'll just buy you out up front (everyone has their price, and Microsoft is sure to find out how much).
I almost feel bad for Microsoft that the name is so important. I mean, they just don't get it - if you make a really good product, your name will not matter. Especially if you make a really good product and most computers on the planet already use it. I mean, look at Apple (not trying to be fanboy here), but how exciting of a name is OS X? Yeah, there are the code names - Tiger, Panther, etc. - but it's just a neutral, numeric name. X is the roman numeral for 10, which followed OS 9, which followed OS 8, which followed System 7, and System 6, etc. People who use Macs and swear by them couldn't care less what the goddamn name is, and Apple knows this. Microsoft, on the other hand, has problably spent millions of dollars on positioning research, market analysis, an army of lawyers to research everything under the sun, etc.
It's just sad. They so, so, so don't get it.
how exciting of a name is OS X?
:). That way the installed base would see it as a "natural upgrade" rather than "a change to something different".
The brandname is actually MacOS X. Transitioning to a new OS can be very risky (and there's numerous failed attempts in computing history), so Apple obviously wanted to emphisize you were still using MacOS (even though you weren't
So, no, it's not like Apple doesn't care about branding (are you fuckng kidding?!?) -- "OS X" was a fairly boring name by design.
In Microsoft's case, it is not a new OS, so it's better to have a different sounding name to get people's attention. Using a real word makes a distinction from the old 98/ME/NT/XP mumble-jumble.
Now, if you want terrible branding with no particular logic, try "OS/2" (one of those failed new OSes I alluded to.)
Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
... because, whether you like it or not, you're likely to say, "Wow, look at that."
-- I prefer the term "karma escort."
[...] This way you can take a cut of their profits from the products already sold, and tell them that your own business is 'irreparably damaged' because of the confusion.
Why sue BEFORE any money has been made?!? That's just a warning.
I dunno, maybe they fear their business might actually be irreparably damaged? That's not a good thing, you know.
Or Windows XP ME...
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