Am I The Only One Who Was Cheering M$?

“So Microsoft slips easily back into a familiar pattern - if you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em out. It’s been one of their favorite M.O.s for most of their history. They keep going back to it because it works, so I guess you can’t argue with it. The result? One more ‘little guy’ gets squashed and we get deprived of a Windows alternative. What’s that you say? Oops, Microsoft forgot the last step - destroy the competitor by putting him out of business or buying him out (otherwise known as an ‘acquisition’).”

Yes, we all know that M$ is scum and they prey on users, companies, vendors, and small children. But I was rooting for Microsoft in the Microsoft vs. Lindows bash. Trademark law exists to protect large companies from being taken advantage of just so some small worthless company can self promote itself on the coattails of others.

People argue that Windows is a generic term or that computers have had windows long before Microsoft ever thought of the Windows OS. So what? The only real requirement of a trademark is that it be famous and distinct. Windows qualifies as both. If I say I am running Windows on my computer, everyone knows and assumes that I am running a product from the Microsoft Corporation and not X-Windows. There is no confusion with an element of a GUI nor with a pane of glass. It is an Operating System sold by Microsoft. It is distinct and famous and thus the trademark is valid. I think the U.S. court ruling was wrong. And as the lawsuit has been dropped and withdrawn, the ruling against Microsoft is now moot. So Windows is still a valid trademark.

Altering one letter to make a similar product with a similar sounding name is against the law. Has been for years. This is what keeps me from selling Rollex watches, Riptide detergent, or Terox copiers.

Michael Robertson gained an unfair advantage with his hijacking of the Windows name. He managed to extort funds to keep his business going. While Microsoft tactics are often of very low ethics, his Lindows actions were no better. He is an embarrassment to the Linux community. A typical example of the scum that runs many a business these days. Enron, Microsoft, Martha Stewart, and Michael Robertson are all cut of the same cloth - the only differences are in the size of that cloth. [Nathan Williams]