US NEWS....Microsoft's Appeal Denied
Windows Trademark To Be On Trial
San Diego, California - May 24, 2004 - The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) petition for interlocutory appeal in its ongoing trademark litigation against Lindows, Inc. The case has now been remanded back to the Honorable Judge Coughenour of the United States District Court in Seattle for trial.
"We're looking forward to getting this trial back on the fast track and presenting our piles of evidence - videos, magazines, internal Microsoft documents - which clearly shows the generic use of 'windows' before Microsoft commandeered the word," said Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of Lindows, Inc. "This outright denial of Microsoft's appeal confirms that the trial will focus on how consumers and the software industry used the term 'windows' in the 1980s, before Microsoft dominated the landscape."
The denial of Microsoft's appeal sets the trial on a timetable to take place in the second half of 2004 in Seattle, Washington with the Honorable Judge Coughenour presiding. The trial is expected to last approximately two weeks with each side having one week to present its case. Witnesses already designated to testify include Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and Michael Robertson.
The appeal stems from a motion Microsoft filed earlier this year on the eve of trial. Microsoft argued that the jury should only consider the meaning of the term "windows" as it is understood by the public today. On February 10th, Judge Coughenour ruled that the jury will be instructed "to consider whether the Windows mark was generic during the period before Microsoft Windows 1.0 entered the marketplace in November 1985." At the same time, the Court ruled that it will not instruct the jury to consider the current meaning if the jury finds "windows" was a generic term prior to November 1985. The Court’s February 10, 2004, Order can be found at www.linspire.com/genericness.
While the Court found in favor of Lindows on this critical issue, it also struck the trial date and allowed Microsoft to appeal the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. After extensive briefing by both sides, the Court of Appeals has now dismissed Microsoft’s appeal and left Judge Coughenour’s ruling entirely intact.
The case began in December 2001 when Microsoft filed a trademark infringement suit and asked the Court to block Lindows, Inc. from using its company name and its product name, LindowsOS. Since that time, two successive rulings denied Microsoft’s requests for an injunction and raised serious questions about the validity of the "windows" trademark. A trial date was scheduled for March 1, 2004, but was postponed due to the appeal. To read past Court documents, visit www.linspire.com/mslawsuit.
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling can be found at www.linspire.com/denied. To be informed of the trial date once it has been set and to keep up to date on other developments, please visit www.linspire.com/trialupdate.
For more information,
Ellie Sanchez
Lindows, Inc.
858-587-6700 ext. 263
pr@lindows.com
About Linspire
Linspire is an affordable Linux-based operating system, designed specifically for desktop and laptop computers in homes, schools and businesses. Linspire uses proprietary CNR technology that allows the installation, updating and management of hundreds of software programs usually with just one click. The Linspire operating system is also offered in Spanish (www.linspire.com/espanol) and Japanese (www.linspire.com/livedoor). 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. |
