Microsoft v. Lindows: the “Windows” trademark case

Archive page. A reference on one of the best-known software trademark disputes of the early 2000s, including the court’s 2002 rulings.

Background

Lindows was a desktop operating system founded by Michael Robertson and first released in 2001. It was built on Debian Linux and aimed to be familiar to Windows users, with a software installer called Click-N-Run (CNR). Its name drew attention almost immediately. Microsoft sued Lindows.com, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, arguing that “Lindows” infringed its “Windows” trademark. Lindows replied that “windows” was a generic term for a kind of graphical user interface and could not be owned as a trademark.

The March 15, 2002 ruling

Judge John Coughenour denied Microsoft’s request for a preliminary injunction in a 30-page ruling. The key points:

• The question was whether “Windows” was a valid, protectable mark. A generic term cannot be a trademark, however much recognition it acquires.
• The court noted that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had refused registration in 1993 on the ground that the term was generic, and approved it in early 1995.
• Lindows.com presented evidence from five of six categories of proof, omitting only consumer surveys, including hundreds of computer products and companies using “windows” or a variant in their names.
• The court found that Lindows.com had rebutted the presumption that the mark was valid, and that Microsoft had shown only serious questions, not a likelihood of success on the merits.

On page 27, the judge wrote that Lindows had made a risky choice of name, but that Microsoft had arguably made an equally risky one in 1983 by naming its product after a term already common in the trade.

Read the full ruling (PDF, about 3 MB)

The motion for reconsideration

Microsoft asked the court to reconsider on March 29, 2002. Lindows.com responded on April 29, and on May 13, 2002 the court denied the motion. The judge explained that when a composite term is generic, a descriptive word within it can also be generic, and that Microsoft’s own evidence repeatedly used terms such as “window manager” and “windowing environment.”

Outcome

The companies settled in 2004, and as part of the agreement Lindows was renamed Linspire, which continued the product for several more years. Linspire was also the main sponsor of the Nvu web editor. See also the Lindows.com Clicky Awards (2002).

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