Lindows Legal Challenge 351
pphrdza was one of several readers who sent in the latest on the Lindows front - it's a Ny Times (Free reg. blah blah) article entitled Glass Panes and Software. Not a whole lot of new information - more around the legal challenge blah blah.
Non reg ver. (Score:1, Interesting)
Question (Score:2, Interesting)
Is anyone out there even using Lindows?
Re:Who here has legs (Score:5, Interesting)
I believe Lindows has more hand. Not only was windows a generic term for glass in walls, it was also a generic term for a software interface. It was used by many companies. Microsoft has no rights over that.
However this plays out... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Who here has legs (Score:1, Interesting)
However I entirely agree with you. The name "Lindows" is clearly to confuse the consumer and to capitalize on the awareness of Windows (and everyone on the planet, pretty much, identifies "Windows" when referring to computer products as as "Microsoft Windows". There is no ambiguity and any attempts to pretend that it's a generic word is disingeuous). Microsoft is hardly intruding on their rights, either, as "Lindows" has every right to call it "Smoozleboog" with a disclaimer "Now offering subpar, marginal, largely useless Microsoft Windows(tm) compatibility".
Regardless of the trademark issue, two other points come to the forefront:
Microsoft Forced Windows Commander to change... (Score:5, Interesting)
Windows Commander is now Total Commander!
Why this name change? In Summer 2002, we received a letter from attorneys representing the owner of the trademark Windows. In this letter they expressed concerns that our usage of the name could lead to confusion with their own products. In particular, people could think that our program could be from their company. We were indirectly asked to change the name of our software.
Because Windows is registered as a trademark, we didn't want to risk a lawsuit, and decided to change the name. It's important to mention that we have been treated in a very fair way: There have never been any legal threats, and we could negotiate a transitional period until the end of the year. We ask you to consider this, and not to make any negative comments - especially in the forum. Because we are legally responsible for its contents, it could bring us into deep legal troubles. Please also do not contact us because of the new name. As a small company, we couldn't handle the big amount of messages. We will not give more information about the name change anyway.
The original name Windows Commander was chosen more by coincidence. There were already many Commander-style programs for DOS (e.g. DOS Command Center, DOS Controller, and the Norton Commander), but hardly any for Windows. The word Commander was standing already at this time - 9 years ago - for a whole class of file managers with 2 windows side by side. Windows Commander was one of the very first such programs for Windows, therefore the chosen name was quite logical.
The new name Total Commander was chosen together with a trademark attorney. Total Commander was also registered as a trademark. Thanks to the new name, we now also have new possibilities to offer similar products for other platforms, e.g. for PocketPC or Linux. The name should stand for the fact that the program puts you in total command over your files. It allows you to see what is really saved on the harddisk, and helps you to manipulate all files directly.
We can only speculate why the owner of the name 'Windows' has become active just now (after 9 years). On one side, they have been put under pressure by the usage of their (slightly changed) name by the Linux community. There have been reproaches that they wouldn't be actively defending their name, and losing their trademark this way. On the other side, someone else had just registered the domain www.windowscommander.com (which we own ourselves in the meantime). The company may have noticed us because of this registration.
Re:Pre-emptive strike (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:This case wouldn't happen.. (Score:1, Interesting)
He assumed it meant 'Light Windows' and that's why the machines were so cheap.
It's not just the name. The look and feel are all designed to look like Windows.
I see a deliberate attempt to mislead customers, myself.
Re:Pre-emptive strike (Score:3, Interesting)
Windows is not a generic term now. If someone says Linux, you know what they are talking about (the specific OS). By the same terms, if someone says that a program they wrote "runs on Windows" you know, with 100% certainty, that they are referring to the specificMS OS called Windows. That is the perfect illustration of secondary meaning, when you say a name do people think you generally mean a type of product or do you think of a specific product. For example, when you say "hand me a Kleenex" you probably don't give a hoot if I give you Kleenex brand tissues, Puffs brand, or Wal-Mart brand. But if I say I want a Windows program, you know that I don't want some program written for Linux.
The issue in the case is not whether or not the term Windows is generic now (it obviously isn't), but wheter or not the term Windows was generic when it was initially adopted, because there are a few cases that say that if a term is generic, it can never become trademarked, even if the name is associated with the one particular product. The most famous case for this prinicple is the Shredded Wheat case.
It must be a slow newsday, though. This case is old news, until the judge makes a decision (Lindows filed its summary judgment motion in October). Yet it makes both NYT and /.
Re:Microsoft Forced Windows Commander to change... (Score:3, Interesting)
Why this name change? In Summer 2002, we received a letter from attorneys representing the owner of the trademark Windows. In this letter they expressed concerns that our usage of the name could lead to confusion with their own products. In particular, people could think that our program could be from their company. We were indirectly asked to change the name of our software.
We can only speculate why the owner of the name 'Windows' has become active just now (after 9 years).
Who want's to bet that the reason he got asked to change his product's name after 9 years is because of the Lindows case? What's ironic is that this guy started using the name Windows Commander in 1993 and the article states that Microsoft had a trademark application rejected in 1993. Microsoft was only issued a trademark 2 years after this guy started using the name.
Re:Who here has legs (Score:3, Interesting)
Then as long as Robertson's at it, he might as well sue them for Word, Publisher, Office, Flight Simulator, Media Player, Money, Commerce Server, and SQL Server. All registered trademarks, all describing either common English words or the general software functions...
Re:Pre-emptive strike (Score:2, Interesting)
The main point is, wether one likes it or not, Lindows is purposefully meant to mislead the average non-geek. People will see a cheap, Lindows based machine versus an expensive Windows based machine. They'll see a similar GUI, similar ease-of-use, and which do you think they will buy: The $800-$2500 machine, or the $400 machine?
I like Mike's attitude (Score:2, Interesting)
Word of Caution (Score:2, Interesting)
In other words, even if Mike Robertson wins the trademark battle, Microsoft's lawyers can begin scrounging up ways to pile frivolous lawsuits on him. For example, browsing around the lindows.com [lindows.com] web site, I notice the use of the phrase "Microsoft Windows", without any mention of trademark of the word "Microsoft" (much less Windows).
i find this all amusing... (Score:3, Interesting)
with linux, the complaint is that it is too hard to use for newbies because of the cli.
now that linux is closer to windows (needs to catch up to the mac still - that's the real bar to shoot for) for end user friendliness, the windows sheep need something else to criticise linux on.
first they fight on licenses, but now with lindows we see the height of hypocricy: these linux people are marketing in an unfair way.
oh really? obviously lindows is not the entire linux community - not even close - but it's a joy to see ms being tripped up by their own tactics. someone is playing against them on the marketing front - good. it's the only area ms has outplayed the competition they've trampled/bought/stolen. and now someone is trying to fight back on that front so the dosheads start whining.
oh boo hoo.
now, stfu, i want to enjoy this ass-kicking in peace.
Did anyone notice... (Score:4, Interesting)
"In written testimony last month, Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman asserted that...Windows is a layer of software between an operating system and an application...."
In the antitrust testimony Bill Gates was very emphatic that Windows and the OS were the same thing and could not be separated. Maybe someone should pass this along to those states which are still in litigation. Be interesting to see the response Mr. Gates has on this.