Microsoft Corp. took its trademark injunction case against Lindows.com Inc. to Canada, arguing that the distributor of Linux-based desktop software was capitalizing on its Windows brand name, the two companies said on Friday.
The world's largest software maker, often embroiled in legal battles with competitors and known for a landmark antitrust case brought by the U.S. government, also filed legal rebuttals in an ongoing case with cross-town rival RealNetworks Inc., disputing its claims that Microsoft used its dominant position to unfairly promote its own competing software.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft argued that Lindows.com, which distributes a variant of the Linux operating system that can be copied and modified, chose its name in order to gain publicity from being associated with Microsoft's Windows operating system software, which runs on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)
"We're merely asking that they change their name to one that so obviously doesn't copy ours," said Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake, "There are many Linux-based operating systems that use distinctive names, that don't infringe on Windows."
The legal action against Lindows.com, filed in Ottawa last week, reflected another attempt by Microsoft to slow down the adoption of Linux, which competes against Microsoft software, said Michael Robertson, chief executive of Lindows.com.
"They're attempting to bury our success with litigation," Robertson said in a statement.
U.S. court date approaching
Microsoft and San Diego, California-based Lindows.com are embroiled in a legal battle in the United States as well and were scheduled to go to trial at the beginning of March.
U.S. District Court of Western Washington Judge John Coughenour ruled two weeks ago that a jury would not be allowed to consider the meaning of the term "Windows" as it is used today.
Both sides claimed victory in that ruling, which left it up to the U.S. Court of Appeals to decide on the the scope of the Windows trademark. Microsoft said an appeals court ruling would provide greater clarity over the use of the Windows trademark while Lindows.com argued that the court agreed that the term "Windows" was generic and that the company could use its name indefinitely.
Microsoft has already won injunctions against Lindows.com in Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Separately, in a legal response filed on Friday, Microsoft disputed claims by RealNetworks that its business was hurt by Microsoft efforts to promote its own software for playing audio and video over the Internet.
In December, Seattle-based RealNetworks filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming that it unfairly promoted its own software
Microsoft said that, contrary to RealNetworks' claims, users are free to make the company's RealPlayer the default media player in Windows.
"In response to Real's claim that Microsoft's acts have injured RealNetworks and threaten to destroy competition in the digital media markets... Microsoft notes that consumers are benefiting from rapid innovation in digital media technology that results, in part, from vigorous competition between Microsoft and RealNetworks," Microsoft said in a statement.
