[Am-info] Microsoft Releasing Records to Lindows

[Mitch Stone]

If I remember correctly, the "Victor's Secret" shop was owned by a guy 
named Victor. The question of whether this individual had a legitimate 
right to using his own name despite the prior trademark must have 
complicated matters in this case (caveat: I haven't read any summaries 
of the court's decision yet).

Also, remember Microsoft's problem with the "PalmPC?" They dropped that 
name after 3Com complained about trademark infringement, though not in 
court I'm fairly certain. Clearly Microsoft is prepared to talk out of 
both sides of their mouth on this issue.

On Wednesday, March 5, 2003, at 06:58 AM, Eric Bennett wrote:

> Mitch Stone wrote:
>>
>> This could be interesting... the "look and feel" lawsuit's been the
>> subject of much debate and speculation over the years. Perhaps now 
>> some
>> answers will come to light.
>
> Also of interest is the Supreme Court's ruling yesterday in a lawsuit 
> by
> Victoria's Secret filed for trademark infringement case against a small
> sex-paraphernalia store calling itself "Victor's Secret".  The court
> unanimously ruled that Victoria's Secret failed to show actual harm to 
> its
> business and that there was no trademark infringement.  Since the 
> Lindows
> case is very similar in broad respects -- a slightly changed spelling 
> of a
> trademark -- that ruling increases the burden on Microsoft to show how
> Lindows' name causes damage.
>
> http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/02pdf/01-1015.pdf
>
> -- 
> Eric Bennett ( ericb@pobox.com ; http://www.pobox.com/~ericb )
>
> A penny saved is a penny that will end up on your dresser,
> slowly corroding and gathering dust with the other pennies.
> _______________________________________________
> Am-info mailing list
> Am-info@lists.essential.org
> http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/am-info
>
>
   -----------
   Mitch Stone
   mitch@accidentalexpert.com

   In America you can go on the air and kid the politicians, and
   the politicians can go on the air and kid the people.
   -- Groucho Marx