Microsoft has opened another European front in its war to get Lindows.com to change its name. The company has won a temporary restraining order which prohibits Lindows.com from use of the marks "Lindows", "Lindows.com", and "LindowsOS" in Sweden, pending a later decision on alleged trademark infringement. The judgment in effect halts Lindows OS sales in the country. Microsoft last month threatened legal action against LindowsOS in the Netherlands. It has also started legal action in France against Lindows.com and a Lindows OS reseller, Lindows.com says. Microsoft is also taking action against Lindows in Belgium and Luxembourg, and has sent warning letters to resellers. But it told IDG News Service this week that it is not targeting individual LindowsOS resellers. A US court will decide next year if Lindows.com infringes Microsoft's Windows trademarks.
Now for some fighting talk from Michael Robertson, Lindows.com's boss: "Microsoft is using lawsuits as a battering ram to smash Linux, to prevent it from reaching retail stores. We're hopeful that the Judge will see Microsoft's true intentions are to sustain their monopoly and will grant Swedish computer users the same choices that global computer users are benefiting from. "Microsoft tried this identical legal manouvre in the US, attempting to block the growth of Linux with mainstream computer users. The US Courts denied their request multiple times and today more than 100 retailers sell Linux desktop and laptop computers, forcing Microsoft to compete in the United States for the first time in many years, giving consumers more choices and better prices."
News source: The Register
