microsoft's trial against lindows to go forward
May 24, 2004 5:32pm ET (Reuters)
SEATTLE, May 24 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp.'s trademark infringement case against Lindows Inc. is set to go to trial after a federal appeals court denied the world's largest software maker's appeal on a key consideration in the case, according to court documents issued on Monday.
Microsoft had filed an appeal earlier this year, just before both parties were to meet in the courtroom, over whether the word "windows" can be considered a generic term as it is used by the public today.
Judge John Coughenour of the U.S. District Court, who is presiding over the case, had previously instructed that a jury should only consider whether the word "windows" was a generic term before Microsoft launched its first version of Windows in 1985.
The Ninth Circuit of Appeals denied Microsoft's appeal, clearing the way for the two parties to meet in a courtroom over whether Lindows can sell software under the Lindows name.
Microsoft sued Lindows in late 2001, arguing that the developer of Linux operating system software was capitalizing on the name of its Windows product, which runs on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers.
"This outright denial of Microsoft's appeal confirms that the trial will focus on how consumers and the software industry used the term 'windows' in the 1980s, before Microsoft dominated the landscape," Lindows Chief Executive Michael Robertson said in a statement.
The trial is expected to take place during the second half of this year.
Officials for Redmond, Washington-based company said that Microsoft was prepared to "vigorously defend" itself in court.
"The court of appeals decision clearly moves up the timeline in this process, but we are confident in our case and prepared to go to trial," Microsoft's spokeswoman said.
Last month, Robertson said the "Lindows" name was being dropped from his company's software products and instead would be called "Linspire" to because of litigation brought against the company by Microsoft.
Yet Robertson said the corporate name Lindows.com would remain, along with its corporate Web site, and while it fights Microsoft in court, the Lindows product would continue to be sold in stores under that name in the United States.
Lindows, or Linspire, is based on Linux, which has gained in popularity since it can be copied and modified freely while running on the same hardware as Windows, which runs on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers.
