Reed Stevenson

SEATTLE: In the end, the legal pressure from Microsoft Corp. was too tough for Lindows.com Inc., which said that it was changing the name of its Linux-based operating system to "Linspire."

Lindows.com Chief Executive Michael Robertson said the "Lindows" name was being dropped from his company's software products, which compete with Microsoft's Windows, because of the lawsuits filed against his company by Microsoft.

"The simple truth is that the sheer number of lawsuits launched by the richest company in the world is tough for any company to withstand," Robertson said in a statement.

But Robertson said the corporate name Lindows.com would remain, along with its corporate Web site, and while it fights Microsoft in court, the Lindows product would continue to be sold in stores under that name in the United States.

The Lindows.com offering is based on Linux, which has gained in popularity since it can be copied and modified freely while running on the same hardware as Windows, which runs on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers.

Microsoft said lawyers were still evaluating whether Lindows.com's actions meant that it was no longer infringing on its Windows name, which the Redmond, Washington-based company claimed when it sued Lindows.com in late 2001.

"It's still too early to tell how this will impact the legal proceedings," said Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake, adding that the issue, "has always been about the name."

Among the considerations was whether Lindows.com, had in fact dropped the Lindows name altogether from its product marketing efforts.

"Since many people know our company as Lindows, and there are hundreds of stores with our products on their shelves," Robertson said in his note, "we will keep the name Lindows as our corporate identity, and the product may be merchandised under that name in the United States."

Legal experts following the Lindows case in Seattle said that a federal court ruling earlier this year increased the chance that Lindows would be able to defend itself from Microsoft's lawsuit and keep the name.

Microsoft, which says that it will ultimately win the U.S. case, has sued Lindows.com in other countries to stop the company from using the name and won injunctions in some jurisdictions, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Lindows.com's Robertson held out hope that the original product name could still be used to sell software in the United States. "The US lawsuit is well under way and we look forward to having our day in court," he said.

© Reuters