Microsoft Ordered to Pay Lindows 944 Euros
Jun 2nd, 02:31 UTC
Amsterdam District Court Ruled in Favor of Lindows On All Counts
San Diego, California - June 1, 2004 -
The Amsterdam District Court ruled on May 27, 2004 in
favor of Lindows, Inc. on all counts in Microsoft's second attempt for a preliminary injunction
on trademark infringement and has ordered Microsoft to pay
Lindows 944 Euros. The court agreed with Lindows that not every use
of the trade name Lindows infringes on the trademark "windows".
Visit www.linspire.com/microsoftfine
for a copy of the ruling in English.
"This victory is quite a
turnaround because Microsoft had asked for a daily fine of 100,000
euros to be levied against us and instead they are the ones required
to pay," said Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of
Lindows, Inc. "We hope Microsoft can move past these legal
tactics and learn to compete in the marketplace rather than the
courtroom."
According to the ruling Lindows has
complied with the use of the trade name and can continue to use the
name Lindows on a limited basis, accompanied at all times with the
additional phrase that Lindows is not affiliated with "windows"
in any way. Since the trade name Lindows is still legal outside the
Benelux and the use of the name does not justify a competitive
advantage, the court concluded that the use does not contravene the
prior judgement nor the settlement agreement. The court could not
require nor was it obligated to have Lindows adapt its trade name
outside the Benelux, ruling there was no infringing use of the trade
name, and therefore denying Microsoft's claim and ordering the
company to pay Lindows 944 Euros.
This ruling permits Lindows to resume
sales in the Benelux countries. Beginning immediately residents of
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg can order Linspire products
for either digital or postal delivery at www.linspire.com/order.
Sales through resellers are planned to resume in late June. To
re-energize desktop Linux in Benelux, Lindows is making its latest
version of Linspire available for free via BitTorrent for a limited time
using the coupon code free4benelux. For complete instructions on receiving this special offer, please visit www.linspire.com/p2p-pr.
In 2003,
Microsoft took its lawsuit overseas regarding MS Windows trademark
infringement while the same issues were being heard in United States
courts. In response to Microsoft's lawsuits worldwide and to
continue operating overseas, Lindows changed its product name and
website address in April 2004 to Linspire. Microsoft then filed a
second request for a preliminary injunction in Amsterdam stating that Lindows was
continuing to infringe on their trademark based on small print use of
the trade name. Currently no products are being sold under the Lindows or Linspire name into the
Netherlands and the term "Lindows" is not used on the
website except as required for corporate and copyright identification
purposes.
Linspire
is an affordable, full-featured computer operating system that
delivers the power, security, stability and value of Linux with an
easy and intuitive design. Meeting the needs of all skill levels,
Linspire can be installed in less than 10 minutes or comes pre-installed on a
wide-range of desktop and laptop computers. Linspire is currently
being distributed to over 350 OEMs worldwide and continues to identify new channel partners and
strategies to drive sales in emerging markets. To learn more about the Linspire builder program, visit www.linspire.com/builders.
For more information,
Ellie
Sanchez
Lindows, Inc.
858-587-6700 ext.
263
pr@lindows.com
About
Lindows, Inc.
Lindows, Inc., is a leading developer and vendor
of affordable Linux-based operating systems, applications software
and computer services, designed specifically for desktop and laptop
computers in homes, schools and businesses. At the cornerstone of
Lindows, Inc. is the Linspire operating system. Linspire uses
Lindows' proprietary CNR technology that allows the installation,
updating and management of hundreds of software programs usually with
just one click. The Linspire Laptop Edition is specifically tailored
for the power management and wireless needs of mobile computer users.
The Linspire operating system is also offered in Spanish
(www.linspire.com/espanol)
and Japanese (www.linspire.com/edge).
Those who are interested in becoming authorized resellers of Linspire
should visit www.linspire.com/reseller,
or www.linspire.com/builder
if interested in selling computers pre-loaded with Linspire.
Corporate information about Lindows, Inc. is available at
www.lindowsinc.com.
Linspire
is a trademark of
Lindows, Inc.,
a US Corporation. Copyright © 2004 Lindows,
Inc. All
rights reserved.
Linspire and Lindows,
Inc. are
not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft Corporation in any way.
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