Microsoft Trademark in Question

[andysocial]

Short piece about the recent Microsoft Vs. Lindows case. Lindows is being sued by MS to get them to stop using a name which could be "confused" with Windows. Is anyone so slow they would confuse Lindows and Windows?

Anyway, the judge said that there are serious questions about whether MS should have ever been granted a trademark on the GENERIC word Windows in the first place. Not like MS uses generic words for trademarked things elsewhere, like Word or Project... You'd think they could have seen this coming. Nobody is allowed to trademark the word "computer" why should MS be allowed to trademark "Windows"? Wouldn't the obvious assumption then be that Anderson Windows has to pay MS a fee for use of the trademark on their glass products? heh

Comments

[rillifane.livejournal.com]

Anderson Windows has to pay MS

I agree with your general position but, just to clarify the law in this regard, even if it is proper for MS to trademark "windows" another entity may use the word in regard to a completely different sort of product.

Generic words

[andysocial]

I assumed that Anderson would not apply, as there is not chance of "confusion" which is the primary purpose for trademark law. Just reductio ad absurdum.

It just seems silly that, years after Xerox developed the first windowing system, Microsoft applied for a trademark on such a generic word. As if everyone hadn't been talking about "windows" and "palettes" and other such common terms before MS got a 1983 trademark. Notice it was trademarked well before a usable version of Windows existed, but also just before Macintosh was released.