Microsoft Corp. can continue to pursue trademark infringement cases against Linux vendor Lindows.com Inc. in international courts, a U.S. federal judge ruled Friday. San Diego-based Lindows.com had asked the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to stop Microsoft from suing it outside the U.S. and to strike a January ruling by a Netherlands court ordering Lindows.com to make its Web site inaccessible to people in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the Benelux countries.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour on Friday denied Lindows.com's request, stating in his ruling that there is no reason to interfere with the jurisdiction of foreign courts. However, he indicated that if a foreign court were to impede on the constitutional rights of Lindows.com he would act. Lindows.com claims it is technically impossible to comply with the Dutch court's order to block access to its Web site from the Benelux countries. The company had argued that it would be forced to shut down its Web site if the U.S. court did not intervene and that closing its Web site would violate its First Amendment rights.
News source: InfoWorld
