When a Netherlands court ordered a preliminary injunction against desktop Linux vendor Lindows.com Inc. and its resellers “to cease and desist from the infringement of … the WINDOWS trademark … by using the signs “Lindows”, “Lindows.com” and/or “LindowsOS,” it seems Lindows would have to close up shop in the Netherlands and other European countries, which had seen similar rulings. Lindows, however, has come up with a novel approach to keep selling its popular Linus desktop: change the company and product’s name in Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Sweden to “Lin—s” (Lindash).
In a statement, Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of Lindows.com said, “Dutch citizens deserve the same choices that are currently available to the citizens of more than one hundred countries around the world. Lindash ensures that the Netherlands will have affordable, virus-free options instead of just expensive Microsoft software.”
The program was launched on Feb. 17 and enables citizens of the countries where Microsoft has won restraining orders against Lindows sales to continue to buy the Lindash Linux operating system (Lindows to the rest of the world) through the www.lin—s.com website or from participating resellers.