Can't Use The Name Lindows? How About Lin---s?
from the won't-back-down dept
Michael Robertson is not known for backing down when challenged. In fact, his specialty seems to be taking controversy and turning it to his advantage for the publicity. Thus, it should be no surprise to hear that when told he can no longer use the Lindows name in certain European countries, he'd change the offering name to Lin---s instead (pronounced LinDash). No matter how much of a cheap publicity stunt it is, you have to admit that the hangman graphic on the Lin---s.com site (yes, they got the domain) showing all the crossed off letters not needed to fill in the missing letters is somewhat amusing.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Not(win)dows...
How anyone could be confused between Windows and Notdows would be beyond me. Of course, this is all stupid trademark litigation which a judge should have thrown out as frivilous anyway, how anyone could see a connection between the word "windows" and the made up word "lindows" is beyond me, just as how X-Windows came first, but yet Microsoft is allowed to use the Trademark Windows to push everyone else out. Why the courts haven't seen X-Windows, which existed long before Windows as a dilution of trademark is beyond me?
Didn't MIT Trademark X Window System before Microsoft Trademarked Windows, and wouldn't that be grounds for the loss of Microsoft's Trademark? Then again, IANAL...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]