In a crucial legal loss for Linus Torvalds, Intellectual Property Australia has ruled that the term "Linux" is just too frequently used on the internet and was not distinctive enough to be trademarked.
While the lawyer representing Mr. Torvalds used Google and Wikipedia entries to back up his claim to ownership, the Judge dismissed the examples. The examples ended up proving the fact that Linux is a commonly used generic term online.
However, not all is lost. It appears as if since Linux Australia cannot register the trademark, no one else can either. "Our goal was to make sure the name is used in a reasonable way. If it"s not possible [for anyone else] to register it as a trademark, then that has to some extent been achieved," Linux Australia president Jonathan Oxer said.