Use of "Lindows" name blocked in Sweden

Posted Dec 12, 2003 9:22 UTC (Fri) by filipjoelsson (guest, #2622)
In reply to: Use of "Lindows" name blocked in Sweden by Ross
Parent article: Use of "Lindows" name blocked in Sweden

> It's a technical term which describes a GUI element used in MS
> Windows and other operating systems.

In english, yes. In swedish, we say "fönster" (which happens to be the translations of "window").

> Is calling X11 "The X Window System" also not allowed?

Good question. I doubt that they (tm)ed it in Sweden before MS (tm)ed MS Windows.

> How about referring to things on the screen as windows?

As I said before, we don't - unless speaking to a foreigner who don't know swedish.

> What about wxWindows?

Have they applied for a trademark here?

> It's really a mess if they don't recognize the term to be generic as it
> is.

The mess is the concept of trademarking a generic word, I agree. But what constitutes a generic word? Could I trademark a swedish, french or latin generic word in the US? Sure. Should I have to prove that my (tm)-to-be is not a generic word in _any_ language when I apply? That's silly. So, should we do away with the concept of (tm) alltogether? That's no good either. (How would I know that I really get the quality product I'm looking for in that case?) Do you have a solution?

Use of "Lindows" name blocked in Sweden

Posted Dec 12, 2003 18:17 UTC (Fri) by Ross (guest, #4065) [Link]

Err... X predates MS Windows. I agree they probably didn't file a
trademark but doesn't Sweden recognize trademarks without registration
like the US?

I'm not arguing to get rid of trademarks. I'm also not saying that a
foreign word is automatically a generic term. In the US we give different
trademarks different levels of protection. I'm saying that the protection
for an unadorned foreign word which literally describes the product does
not deserve the level of protection which the Swedish courts seem to give
it.