| Microsoft and Lindows settle dispute, Lindows abandons "Lindows" |
Jul. 19, 2004
Lindows.com and Microsoft Corp. today jointly announced a worldwide settlement has been reached in the trademark infringement cases between the two companies. The agreement will compel Lindows.com to cease using the "Lindows" name and begin transitioning the company's name to Linspire, according to a joint statement. The settlement also resolves all claims, both in the United States and globally.
"This case was centered on the fundamentals of international trademark law and our necessary efforts to protect the Windows trademark against infringement," said Tom Burt, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for Microsoft. "This settlement addresses those concerns, and we are pleased that Lindows will now compete in the marketplace with a name distinctly its own."
Microsoft launched the legal challenge to Lindows.com in December 2001, seeking to halt the sale of LindowsOS and their products. The Redmond software maker aimed to prohibit the company from using the marks "Lindows", "Lindows.com", and "LindowsOS" while selling their version of desktop Linux. Through the ensuing years, Microsoft challenged the Lindows name in Canada, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, and Finland, and other international jurisdictions.
In April 2004, Facing mounting legal issues, Lindows changed its product name to Linspire. The lawsuits persisted despite the company's name change.
The trial was delayed several times over the years, with Lindows.com launching several diversionary programs to sell their products. Along the way, a San Francisco court ordered Lindows.com to stop using "MsfreePC.com" to sell its products. The MSFreePC.com website, operated by Lindows.com, allowed "eligible consumers" to file a Microsoft anti-trust settlement claim online and without receipts and use the resulting credit to purchase Lindows.com products, as well as Sun's StarOffice for "free." Lindows.com also attempted to change its name to "Lin---s" (pronounced "LinDash") and Linspire, in an attempt to get around legal restrictions imposed on product sales.
Many industry insiders say this resolution was expected and a "necessary step," as Lindows officially changed its name "in certain instances" in April, just several weeks before filing for an IPO.
Terms of the settlement are said to be confidential, but it is widely rumored that Microsoft will pay Lindows.com $20 million to change its name, transfer Lindows domain names to Microsoft, and otherwise abandon its use of "Lindows."
It is unclear where this leaves Microsoft's claim of ownership of the word "Windows" as a trademark.
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