Windows-Lindows legal row goes transnational

Ottawa: Microsoft opened another front in its expanding legal battle against Linux seller Lindows, by filing a suit in the federal court of Canada in Ottawa, on February 18, 2004. The suit seeks an injunction barring Lindows from doing business under that name.

The Microsoft suit, in essence, claims that the name Lindows infringes on Microsoft's trademark for the name of its operating system Windows. Lindows, in turn argues that Windows was a generic computing term at the time it was granted and hence such prior use renders Microsoft's trademark invalid.

So far, the results have turned out to be a mixed bag for both the companies. The US judge hearing the cases has sided with Lindows in denying Microsoft's requests for an injunction, while a Dutch court has ruled in favour of Microsoft.

The US judge recently ruled in Lindows' favour by declaring that the jury must consider the use of the term 'windows' around the time the trademark was granted. Microsoft says the case should be based on current use of the term and is appealing the ruling.

Microsoft's legal sorties in several European countries have been more successful. The ruling in the Dutch court has now seen Lindows announcing that it would be doing business in the Benelux countries as Lin---s. The company has set up a new web site, Lin---s.com, for Benelux customers.

Lindows boasts of a slick user interface, with streamlined installation routines, and is the outcome of an open-source effort to present an alternative model for Windows. The San Diego-based Lindows company was launched by Michael Robertson, former CEO of digital music site MP3.com. Robertson, was the owner of the digital music company, MP3.com, which Vivendi Universal bought out for $350 million in 2001.