| jmke | 20th July 2004 09:01 |
Microsoft buys Lindows (name)
After more than two years of trademark litigation over the Lindows name, Microsoft has put an end to the suits by forking over US$20 million for the name and related Web domains. Microsoft had some success in Europe defending the Windows trademark, winning injunctions that forced a change in the international name of the LindowsOS operating system to "Linspire." European success did not follow in US courts, where injunctions were rejected and rulings were handed down that could have limited Microsoft's ability to defend the Windows trademark. That ruling must have sent up warning flares in Redmond — strong enough warnings that they decided to buy the Lindows name instead of risking the invalidation of the Windows trademark. http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/20040719-4006.html | 