Microsoft: Feeling Brash In the European Union

Chuck Talk writes “Obviously Microsoft must not feel that there is any serious threat to its business model from the EU Commission, for they have undertaken to sue the pants off of Lindows founder Michael Robertson and any company that dares to do business with him. The ostensible plausibility is that the Lindows name is somehow going to be confused with the Windows name, for which Microsoft claims to hold the Trademark to. The only problem for the Redmond giant may be that the Windows Trademark may itself come into question as being too generic. This has not stopped the monopoly from obtaining preliminary injunctions against Lindows in some European Union states.

Although the names are similar in sound, it is very likely that Microsoft themselves are making it exceedingly plain that there is a big difference between the two companies products. Microsoft has given Lindows CEO Michael Robertson more press than he likely could have garnered upon his own. As a simple matter of choosing to fight the battle, Microsoft has clearly out Lindows into the spotlight.

Michael Robertson is successfully doing one thing quite well that is probably really angering Microsoft more than anything else. I would argue that his choice of running the Click N Run warehouse of applications for installation on a subscription basis is probably a real sticking point, because this has been a model that Microsoft has wanted to have for some time. Microsoft has traditionally and to this day continues to be, a shrink-wrap product producer.”