The U.S. District Court in Seattle ruled in favor of Lindows.com's assertion that the jury should consider the historical use of the term 'windows' in graphical user interfaces rather just its current usage as being synonymous with Microsoft Windows.
The court also ruled that after a word is declared generic it would continue to be generic, and thus could not be made a corporate trademark. Chief District Judge John Coughenour said in his Tuesday ruling: "If the term is found to be generic 'it cannot be the subject of trademark protection under any circumstances.'"
eweek.com: Ruling Puts Microsoft's 'Windows' Trademark at Risk
